Jeff Bezos writes to NASA, offers $2 billion discount for Moon lander

The contract, worth $2.9 billion, was awarded to rival SpaceX in April, but Blue Origin and a third company Dynetics filed protests.

Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos wrote an open letter to NASA on Monday offering a $2 billion discount to allow his company to build a Moon lander. The contract, worth $2.9 billion, was awarded to rival SpaceX in April, but Blue Origin and a third company Dynetics filed protests.

In his letter to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Bezos said the offer would "bridge the funding shortfall" that led to the space agency picking just one contractor, instead of two which would then compete with each other. He added, "this offer is not a deferral, but is an outright permanent waiver."

Read the full letter here.

Bezos further stated that an advantage of Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander was its use of liquid hydrogen for fuel, which can be mined from lunar ice in line with NASA's plans to use the Moon to refuel rockets for operations deeper into the solar system.

The United States is seeking to return to the Moon by 2024 under the Artemis program, using the lessons learned to prepare for a crewed Mars mission in the 2030s.
Since losing the award, Blue Origin has been frantically lobbying to have the decision reversed, leading the Senate to pass a bill agreeing to add $10 billion to the human lander system. However, the legislation is still in the House for debate.