After a lawsuit that was embarrassing for both NASA and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, it looks like his space company Blue Origin will get a chance to make its own Moon lander.
Bill Nelson, administrator of NASA, announced on Wednesday that the agency would be moving forward with a second human lunar lander as part of the Artemis program to bring astronauts back to the Moon, according to a press release.
Blue Origin filed a lawsuit last year after NASA chose to go with another company for its lunar landers contract. The agency's newest announcement could be seen as a victory for Blue Origin.
Nelson said in a press conference that competition leads to better outcomes. It helps NASA. It helps the American people. I promised competition, so here it is.
It's important to note that this doesn't necessarily mean that NASA will choose Blue Origin. There is a good chance that the agency still passes on the company because of the bad blood that was generated by the lawsuit.
It gives the company a chance to land a lander contract, while also potentially disrupting current plans for rival SpaceX.
The current agreement between NASA and SpaceX does not guarantee a new operational contract after a crewed landing later this year, so the company will have to compete with a new company for future Artemis missions.
This one is a win for Bezos. His Blue Origin is still in the running to get the new lander contract if he doesn't have another temper tantrum.
NASA provides an update to the plans for the moon landing.
Jeff Bezos sued NASA over a contract.
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