Within three years, NASA hopes to resume crewed Moon landings, but unlike their snapshot-happy, golfing Apollo predecessors, future Artemis astronauts may spend part of their time assembling the foundations of a permanent lunar outpost, the agency said on Tuesday.Between now and 2029, NASA says its Moon Base initiative could involve up to 25 missions, including 21 lunar landings, delivering about four metric tons of cargo to the surface along with the first transportation systems for astronauts.NASA on Tuesday announced contracts with four companies to build and deliver hardware for the agency’s planned Moon Base program, the first major procurement update since it outlined the strategy earlier this year.
The awards went to Blue Origin, Astrolab, Lunar Outpost, and Firefly Aerospace . The contracts cover cargo lander missions, two lunar terrain vehicles, and a carrier spacecraft for a set of robotic MoonFall drones under development at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said this is part of a broader push to establish a permanent American presence on the lunar surface, as well as a “lunar economy” that sees future missions, science, and outposts financed by corporations rather than public funds.
