Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1)

An illustration of Blue Ring in orbit. Illustration: Blue OriginJeff Bezos’ space venture is ready to test its Blue Ring orbital platform, which could become a pivotal pitstop for missions journeying to the Moon and beyond. William Shatner on Jeff BezosBlue Origin is set to launch its Blue Ring as part of the DarkSky-1 (DS-1) mission, which is sponsored by the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, the company announced on Tuesday. The exact launch date has not been specified, nor has the launch provider been announced. “The…

Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, is finally setting some ambitious timelines, saying it plans to conduct an uncrewed Moon landing in as little as a year from now, deploying a demonstration version of its Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) cargo lander. This ramps up the space rivalry big time, putting Bezos head-to-head with Musk in a potential lunar showdown.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonJohn Couluris, senior vice president for lunar permanence at Blue Origin, discussed these plans during an…