NASA has signed a contract with Blue Origin to modify its New Shepard vehicle for suborbital flights that simulate the Moon's reduced gravity—one-sixth of Earth's.
NASA's Artemis program aims to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon, requiring innovative tools tested in lunar gravity conditions. To address this, the agency turned to Blue Origin's proven New Shepard platform.
Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, has been offering suborbital tourist flights aboard the reusable New Shepard rocket, reaching just over 100 km above Earth's surface.
On March 9, NASA announced it will use this vehicle to recreate lunar gravity during brief suborbital missions.
While the International Space Station enables extended microgravity research and parabolic flights provide short zero-g periods, partial gravity testing—like the Moon's—has been challenging.
"One of the persistent challenges in space exploration is partial gravity," says NASA's Christopher Baker. "Tools for lunar and Mars missions, including in-situ resource utilization and life support systems, must be validated in these environments."
Modifications to the crew capsule will include reaction control thrusters spinning the vehicle at 11 revolutions per minute, creating a centrifuge effect for over two minutes of simulated lunar gravity.
The first "lunar-gravity New Shepard" flight is slated for late 2022, with the contract valued at $2.69 million, per NASA spokeswoman Clare Skelly.
