--- title: "Jeff Bezos’ Moon Lander Design Just Got a Big Downgrade" description: "Blue Origin just unveiled the latest design for its Moon lander — and we can't help but feel it's a visual downgrade." date: "2023-10-30" modified: "2023-10-30" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/jeff-bezos-moon-lander-downgrade" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Future Society" - "Jeff Bezos" - "Moon" - "Space" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "blue origin" - "jeff bezos" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # Jeff Bezos’ Moon Lander Design Just Got a Big Downgrade ![Blue Origin just unveiled the latest prototype for its NASA moon lander — and it's way jankier looking than the concept art made it seem. ]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Bring Back the Blue Blue Origin just unveiled the latest design for its NASA Moon lander — and we can't help but feel it's a visual downgrade over the [flashy renders]() the company originally showed off back in 2019. In social media posts last week, [NASA administrator Bill Nelson]() and [Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos]() showed off its newest mockup, named the [Blue Moon Mark 1](), a shiny, towering construction that looks remarkably different than the company's original vision. https://twitter.com/SenBillNelson/status/1717904201617908137 To be clear, the aforementioned craft that the two men are standing in front of is not going to fly into space and we still don't know what the final product will actually end up looking like. As [*Ars Technica* acknowledges](), it's merely a mockup, but compared to earlier potential versions of the lander — and especially the first Blue Moon module design that was introduced in 2019 — this white and gold monstrosity leaves much to be desired. ![]() *Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos stands in front of the Blue Moon prototype during an unveiling on May 9, 2019. Image via Blue Origin.* ## Drama Bomb Though those original designs certainly looked a lot sexier per our tastes over here at *Futurism*, they apparently didn't impress NASA much. In 2021, the agency controversially passed over Blue Origin to award Elon Musk's SpaceX an exclusive and highly-coveted contract to build a Human Landing System vehicle for an upcoming mission to the Moon. Unsurprisingly, this debacle led to something of a [feud between the two billionaires](). Along with being royally pissed off, Bezos also [raised a huge legal stink](), but it still took more than 18 months for NASA to formally [award Blue Origin a consolation contract]() for a second HLS vehicle in May 2023 — and even the mockup from back then arguably looks better than Bezos showed off last week. ![]() *Artist’s concept of the Blue Moon lander. Image via Blue Origin/NASA.* Building a Moon lander is, we're sure, difficult work, and crafting a mockup from concept art to completion in less than six months is an even greater feat. And that's not to mention going from a mockup to the real thing. All the same, it seems like mighty good luck that Blue Origin will have [until at least the end of this decade]() to perfect its Blue Moon lander because, by the looks of the model it showed off to NASA last week, it's definitely not space-ready yet. **More on the Artemis mission:** [*Prada Is Officially Working on NASA's Lunar Spacesuit*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()