Blue Moon Mark 1 (flight 2)

Mission specifications

Operator

Blue Origin

Prime contractor

Blue Origin

Landing site

Lunar south pole (VIPER traverse site)

Customer

NASA-CLPS

Payload

VIPER rover (~430 kg dry)as of 2025-09-19^[1]

Contract value

$190Mas of 2025-09-19^[1]Contingent on success of first Blue Moon MK1 mission

Key findings

• 1.Aims to deliver NASA's VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, ~430 kg dry) to the Moon's south pole aboard a second Blue Moon Mark 1 lander, reviving the rover NASA had cancelled from Astrobotic's Griffin mission in 2024.
• 2.VIPER is designed to prospect for water ice and other volatiles at the lunar south pole across a targeted ~100-day surface science campaign, with delivery targeted for late 2027.
• 3.Operates under a NASA CLPS task order awarded 2025-09-19 with a total potential value of about $190M — structured so NASA decides whether to exercise the delivery option only after reviewing Blue Origin's first Blue Moon Mark 1 flight.
• 4.Will re-use a second Blue Moon Mark 1 production unit (already in production), making this mission's schedule directly dependent on the outcome of Pathfinder Mission 1.
• 5.Faces schedule risk because Pathfinder Mission 1 itself has no firm date: New Glenn is grounded after the 2026-05-28 LC-36 static-fire explosion that destroyed a vehicle and damaged the only pad, following the earlier NG-3 second-stage anomaly (2026-04-19).

Mission outcome

This second Blue Moon Mark 1 mission is NASA's revived path to fly the VIPER rover, awarded to Blue Origin under a CLPS task order worth up to $190M on 2025-09-19 after VIPER was pulled from Astrobotic's Griffin lander. If flown, it would carry the ~430 kg VIPER to the lunar south pole for a roughly 100-day hunt for water ice, with delivery targeted for late 2027. The mission is contingent on the success of Blue Origin's first Blue Moon Mark 1 flight (Pathfinder Mission 1) and uses a second lander unit now in production — but with New Glenn grounded after the May 2026 LC-36 explosion (and an earlier NG-3 second-stage anomaly in April 2026), its timeline is uncertain and it has not yet launched.