NASA awards Moon Base contracts, advances nuclear-powered PROMISE rover for 2028

NASA announced a series of awards and mission updates on Saturday to expand its Moon Base exploration, science and infrastructure work. The announcement was made at the MAX POWER aerospace expo and air show at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA selected eight companies for the next phase of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative under a new contract called CLPS 2. It is a 10-year multiple-award contract with a combined maximum value of $10 billion. Companies named for CLPS 2 include Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, Voyager, Intuitive Machines, Northrop Grumman and ispace US, according to Scientific American. The programme is to include next-generation landers able to carry loads of up to six metric tons.

NASA also raised the value of the current CLPS 1.0 contract from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion. The original contract stays in place through November 2028, with an extra five-year period to complete awarded deliveries through November 2033.

The agency is moving ahead with PROMISE, a six-wheeled, nuclear-powered rover that will land at the Moon's South Pole. It will carry a drill to take regolith from about 1 metre below the surface, along with spectrometers, temperature and radiation sensors and visible-light cameras. NASA is targeting late 2028 for launch and plans an 18-month mission.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will manage the mission and build the rover from spare flight components and engineering test models for the Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rovers. Scientific American reported that James Keane of JPL will be project scientist, and that PROMISE will scout for Moon Base operations while prospecting for resources.

NASA awarded Blue Origin a $94 million base contract, with an option period worth a further $140 million, to deliver PROMISE using its Mark 1 lander. NASA also awarded six task orders under its Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare launch services contract to Arrow Science and Technology, Blue Origin and Impulse Space.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said: "We are building the Moon Base mission by mission." Carlos García-Galán, manager of the Moon Base Program, said: "Most importantly, we've taken action, awarding new contracts and forging new partnerships to accelerate development."

Scientific American said Artemis III is slated for early 2027 to test two potential landers, Blue Origin's Blue Moon and a version of SpaceX's Starship, and Artemis IV in 2028 is planned to return humans to the Moon. It noted both landers remain unproven, an issue NASA's Office of Inspector General has previously raised.