While New Shepard is best known as a space tourist vehicle, 19 of its 28 flights to date have been uncrewed. The reusable rocket-capsule combo last flew people on Nov. 22, a mission that sent "The Space Gal" Emily Calandrelli and five other folks to the final frontier.

Blue Origin's NS-29 New Shepard rocket will launch on Jan. 28 at 11:30 a.m. EST (1630 GMT) if all goes well. Here's what to know

"The payloads will experience at least two minutes of lunar gravity forces, a first for New Shepard and made possible in part through support from NASA."

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin joined the billionaire’s space race in earnest when its New Glenn rocket roared from a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in the early morning hours of Jan. 16. The second stage with the Blue Ring payload successfully reached orbit. However, an attempt to land the first stage on a drone ship failed.