On January 22, 2026, Blue Origin shipped the 8.1-meter-tall Blue Moon Mk1 (MK1-SN001) lander from Florida facilities via barge to NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston for thermal vacuum chamber testing, prior to return for New Glenn launch preparations no earlier than January 2026; the 3,000 kg-class uncrewed cargo lander targets Shackleton Crater at lunar South Pole with 3 metric tons payload capacity using BE-7 engines.
Mk1 demonstrates precision landing within 100m, cryogenic LOX/LH2 propulsion, continuous communications, and plume studies via SCALPS cameras, enabling safe cargo delivery for lunar surface infrastructure essential to habitation, resource utilization, and existential risk mitigation through off-Earth backups.
Lunar Ark team must monitor Mk1-SN001 pathfinder launch on New Glenn, assess BE-7 reliability data, integrate 3-ton South Pole delivery specs into supply chain models, and evaluate SCALPS dust mitigation for Ark lander designs.