NASA to Test Blue Origin Moon Lander Prototype with Human Testers in Houston

NASA's success with the Artemis II mission has now led to the space agency beginning the test for its lunar landing plans. Specifically, the agency is now set to begin this program in its Houston facility with human testers.

The plan is to properly simulate the use of the moon lander from Blue Origin, one of the commercial space companies that NASA has partnered with to develop the spacecraft needed for the mission.

NASA to Test Blue Origin's Moon Lander in Houston

NASA announced that it is set to begin its actual testing of the moon lander developed by Blue Origin as part of its Commercial Crew contract with the national space agency.

The test will feature Blue Origin's Blue Origin Moon Mark 2 crew cabin, which was recently delivered to NASA's testing facility in the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center located in Houston, Texas.

According to NASA, the prototype is 15 feet tall in height, and it represents what will be used in the future Artemis mission that will involve a lunar landing with astronauts.

It was revealed by NASA that the actual Blue Origin lander that will fly to the Moon will stand at 52 feet tall, feature a crew cabin located at the bottom for astronauts to live in on the lunar surface, and will launch independently and uncrewed atop the New Glenn rocket.

The uncrewed rocket will meet NASA's Orion spacecraft and the Artemis astronauts at the Moon's orbit before heading to its surface.

Human Tests, Simulations for Next Artemis Mission

According to Engadget's report, NASA's test at the Johnson Space Center for the Blue Origin Mark 2 lander will feature human testers to simulate what will happen over at the lunar surface come the actual mission.

NASA explained that the current prototype will be used to "conduct a series of human-in-the-loop tests, or tests with human interaction, including mission scenarios, mission control communications, spacesuit checkouts, and preparations for simulated moonwalks."

A future version of the prototype lander will "evolve" to feature more "advanced mission and training needs," in preparation for Artemis III.

Only Blue Origin's lunar lander arrived at Houston as of press time, with SpaceX's version still unavailable from the company for testing.