On a Saturday at a Florida aerospace gathering, NASA set out its plan for a permanent foothold at the Moon's South Pole, a patient effort the agency calls Moon Base, built one mission at a time so that the first pieces are waiting when astronauts return. Eight companies have been chosen to compete for a decade of cargo landings, a nuclear-powered rover is being readied to scout for ice, and billions in launch and transfer services are being arranged to carry the work forward. It is the quiet logic of every settlement humanity has ever tried: send the tools first, learn the ground, and let the
NASA Expands Moon Base With $10B Lander Contract, Nuclear-Powered PROMISE Rover, and Transport Awards
Building the Moon Base mission by mission
Mark
The headline number is $10 billion. What is that actually?
Mimi
It's the combined maximum for CLPS 2, a 10-year contract shared among eight companies. Companies are only eligible to compete for deliveries.
Luke
Right, so it's a ceiling, not money committed. Indefinite-quantity means the actual spend depends on what NASA orders.
Mark
And PROMISE? Why reuse Mars rover parts?
Mimi
Cost and time. JPL is building it from spare flight components and test models from Curiosity and Perseverance, so integration should go faster.
Luke
NASA says it assessed the hardware for the lunar environment. That's the agency's own assessment; nothing here shows it tested yet.
Mark
Why does nuclear power matter?
Mimi
Long lunar nights and permanently shadowed regions. Solar wouldn't work there, and that's where ice is thought to be.
Luke
Thought to be. The rover's drill, reaching about a meter down, is meant to find out.
Mark
Anything unresolved?
Luke
Integrated power systems haven't been solicited yet, and PROMISE's late 2028 launch is a target, not a commitment.
Der Puls
- NASA is racing to lay the groundwork for a South Pole base before astronauts return to the Moon.
- Eight companies now compete for a ten-year, up-to-$10 billion lander contract, and the original lander contract has grown from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion.
- The nuclear-powered PROMISE rover, built from Mars rover spare parts, aims to launch in late 2028 to drill for ice in permanently shadowed terrain.
- About $1.3 billion in launch and orbital transfer orders are flowing to Blue Origin, Arrow, and Impulse Space to ferry scouts, drones, and test payloads.
- Power infrastructure is taking shape through miniCAST components, with a fully integrated power solicitation expected in early 2027 and Blue Origin's Mark 1 delivery work a key milestone to watch.
On a Saturday at a Florida aerospace gathering, NASA set out its plan for a permanent foothold at the Moon's South Pole, a patient effort the agency calls Moon Base, built one mission at a time so that the first pieces are waiting when astronauts return. Eight companies have been chosen to compete for a decade of cargo landings, a nuclear-powered rover is being readied to scout for ice, and billions in launch and transfer services are being arranged to carry the work forward. It is the quiet logic of every settlement humanity has ever tried: send the tools first, learn the ground, and let the place slowly become a home.
On Saturday, at the MAX POWER aerospace expo at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency revealed a broad package of awards and updates for its planned Moon Base at the lunar South Pole. Administrator Jared Isaacman framed the effort as building mission by mission, so that when astronauts return, the first elements will already be standing on the surface. Carlos García-Galán, who manages the program, said that in the eight months since Ignition, scattered efforts have been consolidated and contracts and partnerships are moving faster.
The largest award goes to cargo landers. Eight companies, including Blue Origin, Firefly, Intuitive Machines, SpaceX, and Lockheed Martin, were selected for CLPS 2, a ten-year contract worth up to $10 billion combined. They will compete for future missions carrying science and infrastructure to the Moon. NASA also raised its existing CLPS 1.0 contract from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion.
The nuclear-powered PROMISE rover is another centerpiece. Six-wheeled and built by JPL from spare parts of the Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rovers, it will land near the South Pole to map the surface and subsurface and to look for resources. Its nuclear power will let it keep working through lunar nights and inside shadowed craters thought to hold ice. A drill will bring up regolith from about a meter down. Launch is targeted for late 2028, with an 18-month mission. Blue Origin won the delivery job.
NASA also issued six launch and transfer orders worth about $1.3 billion, covering test flights such as CAPSTONE 02, scouting flights carrying MoonFall drones, and cislunar demonstrations to increase what future landers can carry. On the surface, miniCAST power components are being purchased and will be assembled at Marshall, with a full power solicitation expected in early 2027. The next steps will show whether these pieces fit together into a base.
On Saturday, at the MAX POWER aerospace expo and air show at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency laid out a broad set of awards and mission updates for what it calls the Moon Base, its planned sustained presence at the lunar South Pole. The package covers robotic deliveries, a nuclear-powered rover, launch and orbital transfer services, and surface power infrastructure.
Administrator Jared Isaacman described the effort as building the base mission by mission, with the aim that when astronauts return to the Moon, the first elements of the base will already be waiting on the surface. Carlos García-Galán, manager of the Moon Base Program, said that in the eight months since Ignition the agency has consolidated numerous efforts into a streamlined program and has been awarding contracts and forming partnerships to speed development.
The largest figure belongs to cargo landers. NASA selected eight companies for CLPS 2, the next phase of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative: Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, iSpace US, Lockheed Martin Space, Northrop Grumman Space Systems, SpaceX, and Voyager Technologies. They are eligible to compete for future delivery missions, managing, building, and operating landers that carry NASA science, technology, and infrastructure payloads. CLPS 2 is a 10-year, multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a combined maximum value of $10 billion. NASA also raised the current CLPS 1.0 contract from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion to support Phase One objectives. That original contract stays in place through November 2028, with a further five years, to November 2033, to finish awarded deliveries.
NASA is also moving ahead with PROMISE, the Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration. The six-wheeled, nuclear-powered rover is meant to land at the South Pole, characterize the surface and subsurface, assess resource potential, and supply data for landing site selection and future infrastructure. Nuclear power lets it work through long lunar nights and inside permanently shadowed regions thought to hold ice. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory will manage the mission and build the rover from spare flight components and engineering test models from the Curiosity and Perseverance Mars rovers, an approach NASA says cuts cost and shortens the integration and testing timeline. The agency says it assessed the hardware and found it can tolerate conditions near the South Pole.
PROMISE will carry a drill to sample regolith from about 3 feet (1 meter) down, spectrometers, temperature and radiation sensors, and visible-light cameras. It will also demonstrate NASA's High Performance Spaceflight Computing, a radiation-tolerant system, along with advanced autonomy sensors and algorithms. Launch is targeted for late 2028, with an 18-month mission planned. Blue Origin received a $94 million base contract, plus a performance-based option worth another $140 million, to deliver it using the Mark 1 lander. The award expands a May 2026 task order to deliver two lunar terrain vehicles.
On transportation, NASA issued six task orders under its VADR launch services contract to Arrow Science and Technology, Blue Origin, and Impulse Space, worth about $1.3 billion combined. VADR has a 10-year term and a $5 billion maximum across all contracts. The orders cover three mission types: risk-reduction flights, including delivery of the CAPSTONE 02 spacecraft to test navigation and communications around the Moon; South Pole preparation flights carrying MoonFall drones to scout terrain beyond the reach of rovers; and cislunar orbit demonstrations meant to raise the cargo future landers can carry. Launches may use Blue Origin's New Glenn, Relativity Space's Terran R, and SpaceX's Falcon 9, with in-space vehicles from Blue Origin, Firefly, Impulse Space, and Quantum Space. Separately, SpaceX will launch communications satellites on a Starship to cislunar space in 2028 under an existing lunar logistics contract.
On the surface, NASA plans to buy components for miniCAST, a Mini-Communications and Solar Tower: energy storage from Honeybee Robotics, power generation from Redwire, and wireless power transfer from Yank Technologies. Marshall Space Flight Center will assemble and test them. Work should begin within months, and a separate solicitation for fully integrated power systems is expected in early 2027. NASA also plans a directed NextSTEP-3 B call to fill data gaps for Moon Base development.
Watch for Blue Origin's Mark 1 delivery work, the miniCAST effort, and that early 2027 power solicitation.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
When our astronauts return to the Moon, they will arrive with the first elements of the Moon Base already waiting for them on the surface.— Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator
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