NASA announced May 26 the first contracts for its planned lunar base, picking four companies to develop and deliver landers and drones to the moon.

NASA has selected Blue Origin to play a major role in the agency’s expanding Moon Base initiative, which will involve three launches in a short time-frame.

During a Moon Base event Tuesday at NASA’s Headquarters in Washington, the agency announced new contracts for lunar rovers for crew to drive and uncrewed

NASA said the first three unmanned moon base missions are targeted to launch by the end of 2026, after achieving a historic lunar fly-by.