NASA Awards Nearly $600 Million for Four New Lunar Delivery Missions

NASA has selected three commercial partners, Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace, and Intuitive Machines, to deliver four new missions to the Moon beginning in late 2028 as part of the agency's Moon Base Program and its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.

Astrobotic received contracts totaling $297.9 million for two lunar deliveries, while Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines were each awarded contracts worth $144.2 million and $148.3 million, respectively, for one mission each. The companies will use updated versions of their previously flown lunar landers to support an increased cadence of lunar surface missions.

According to NASA, the missions will help establish the infrastructure needed for long-term lunar operations and support development of the agency's planned Moon Base.

Lori S. Glaze, associate administrator for NASA's Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate, said the new awards demonstrate NASA's commitment to building a sustained presence on the Moon while providing additional opportunities to develop the technologies and operational experience needed for future exploration.

Each mission will carry three NASA payloads to the lunar surface: the Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS), which will study how rocket exhaust interacts with lunar dust; the Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA), which supports navigation and positioning on the Moon; and the Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer (LETS), which will measure the lunar radiation environment.

NASA officials said deploying the same instruments across multiple locations will help build a broader understanding of lunar conditions and support safer future missions.

With these new awards, NASA's CLPS initiative now includes 17 lunar surface deliveries across multiple providers.