NASA Awards $10 Billion Moon Delivery Program and Nuclear Rover
Eight companies will compete for a decade of lunar cargo flights, the current contract grows to $4.2 billion, and a nuclear rover rides to the South Pole in 2028.
NASA's November 7 awards set up a $10 billion, 10-year lunar delivery program and a nuclear rover mission to the Moon's South Pole in late 2028.
NASA picked eight companies Saturday for a 10-year, $10 billion Moon delivery program and green-lit a nuclear-powered rover for the lunar South Pole. [NASA awards Moon Base transportation, technology, science projects — NASA release 26-095] [NASA picks eight firms for $10 billion CLPS 2 moon delivery contract — AirPro News]
The Commercial Lunar Payload Services 2 selections, announced at Kennedy Space Center, put Blue Origin, Firefly, Intuitive Machines, ispace U.S., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, SpaceX and Voyager in line for cargo flights to the Moon Base. [NASA awards Moon Base transportation, technology, science projects — NASA release 26-095] [NASA picks eight firms for $10 billion CLPS 2 moon delivery contract — AirPro News]
The rover is PROMISE, short for Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration: six wheels, nuclear power and a drill that pulls lunar soil from about 3 feet down to test for ice and other resources. Blue Origin holds a $94 million contract to deliver it, with a $140 million performance option. The launch target is late 2028, the mission 18 months, and program officials put the total cost below $400 million including delivery. [NASA awards Moon Base transportation, technology, science projects — NASA release 26-095] [NASA picks eight firms for $10 billion CLPS 2 moon delivery contract — AirPro News] [NASA shares Moon Base progress, contract awards — SpacePolicyOnline]
The current contract, CLPS 1.0, grows from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion and runs through November 2028, with five more years to finish deliveries already awarded. NASA also issued about $1.3 billion in launch and orbital transfer task orders for the base's infrastructure. [NASA awards Moon Base transportation, technology, science projects — NASA release 26-095] [NASA picks eight firms for $10 billion CLPS 2 moon delivery contract — AirPro News] [NASA shares Moon Base progress, contract awards — SpacePolicyOnline]
The schedule has a catch the agency acknowledged Saturday: the three commercial landers expected to fly this year have all slipped to 2027, and the $10 billion figure is a contract ceiling over 10 years, not money spent. [NASA picks eight firms for $10 billion CLPS 2 moon delivery contract — AirPro News] [NASA shares Moon Base progress, contract awards — SpacePolicyOnline]
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