Blue Origin successfully simulates lunar gravity during research rocket launch. Video

Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket company simulated lunar gravity during the launch of the first of its kind New Shepard research rocket. This valuable experience was gained without flying far from Earth.

Blue Origin has launched a 29-month technology experiment to the edge of space from its pad in West Texas. The company confirmed that approximately two minutes of artificial lunar gravity was achieved by rotating the capsule 11 times per minute, AP reports.

According to Blue Origin, the flight went well, and both the launch vehicle and the capsule returned to Earth for a safe landing.

The two stages of New Shepard - booster and capsule - separated in time just over 2.5 minutes after liftoff. The booster returned to Earth for a vertical landing on the pad a little more than seven minutes later, and the capsule parachuted into the West Texas desert about 10 minutes after launch, Space.com reported.

During the flight, the capsule mimicked "lunar gravity" - a first for a New Shepard mission. It did this by rotating about 11 times per minute for about two minutes, experts explain.

This rotation was implemented to serve the mission's 30 exploration payloads, 29 of which tested "lunar-related technologies," Blue Origin said.

These technologies can be grouped into six main categories, the company explains, namely "in-situ resource utilization, dust mitigation, advanced habitation systems, sensors and instrumentation, small spacecraft technologies, and entry, descent and landing."

According to Blue Origin, more than half of the NS-29 payload was supported by NASA's Flight Opportunities Program. Data on the lunar environment is important for the space agency, which is working to establish a permanent human presence on and around the Moon through its Artemis program, experts say.

"This is an entirely new way to bring lunar gravity to NASA and other lunar technology providers, accelerating their research and technology readiness at a much lower cost," Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said in a post on X.

"Plus, we can adapt this New Shepard capability to closely mirror Mars and other solar system gravity environments in the future," he added.

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