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Today: March 13, 2025

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin mimics the moon's gravity for NASA experiments during spaceflight

Blue Origin-New Shepard
February 04, 2025

Jeff Bezosโ€™ rocket company gave NASA a brief taste of the moonโ€™s gravity Tuesday, without straying too far from home.

Blue Origin launched the 29 lunar technology experiments to the edge of space from West Texas. The company later confirmed that roughly two minutes of artificial lunar gravity were achieved by spinning the capsule 11 times a minute.

It was Blue Originโ€™s first attempt at mimicking lunar gravity, which is one-sixth that of Earth.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin mimics the moon's gravity for NASA experiments during spaceflight
Blue Origin-New Shepard

NASA said it wants to test equipment on short spaceflights to weed out any problems before sending them to the moon. The experiments โ€” mainly sponsored by NASA โ€” included ways to keep lunar dust off future moonwalkersโ€™ spacesuits and tools.

Mimicking the moon's gravity on spaceflights can accelerate research at much lower costs and future trips can โ€œclosely mirror Mars and other solar system gravity environments,โ€ Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp posted on X ahead of the flight.

The New Shepard rocket landed as planned following the late morning liftoff. The capsule with the experiments parachuted back to the desert to close out the 10-minute flight.

New Shepard alternates between flying passengers and experiments on short space hops. Blue Origin's much bigger orbital rocket, New Glenn, made its debut launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, last month.

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin mimics the moon's gravity for NASA experiments during spaceflight
Blue Origin-New Shepard

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Instituteโ€™s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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