Is Seattle-Based Tech Part of a New Push for Moon Rocket Missions in 2026?

For many of us, space exploration or landing on the Moon takes us a back into history, but in 2026, NASA is preparing to head to the Moon and beyond.

  Seattle-based tech will be behind some of the projects

According to Geekwire, NASA has several projects, most notably Project Artemis 2 Orion, which will take four astronauts on a round-the-Moon trip in preparation for another landing in the future, feature Seattle-based tech.

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  According to Geekwire:

"L3Harris Technologies’ team in Redmond, Wash., built thrusters for Artemis 2’s Orion crew vehicle. And Artemis 2 isn’t the only upcoming moon mission with Seattle-area connections: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, headquartered in Kent, plans to send an uncrewed Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to the lunar surface in 2026 to help NASA get set for future moon trips."

Another Seattle-based company, Interlune, is hoping this year to send a prospecting instrument to space to look for Helium-3 on the surface of the Moon.  Helium-3 is a compound they would bring back to Earth to be used in quantum computers and fusion reactors.

In 2025, numerous steps were taken to head to space. Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos) launched its orbital New Glenn rocket and took up test equipment for their orbital space mobility platform.

Space X grew its satellite communications network in 2025, and Amazon launched its first satellites for its space-based broadband internet service in April.  And finally, Redmond-WA-based Starcloud sent up equipment as a first step toward establishing creating a network of data centers in outer space.