NASA has added five new locations to the list of companies eligible to bid for a contract for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. In addition to the nine companies selected during the previous selection process, the list includes SpaceX, Blue Origin, Ceres Robotics, Sierra Nevada Corporation, and Tyvek Nano-Satellite Systems. ) Added. These companies can bid on NASA’s all-month payload delivery agenda.
This means that the five participating companies can participate in the task of carrying luggage to the moon by building a lunar landing ship for the NASA mission. To win a contract from NASA, you have to compete with other companies on the list. The contract will include transporting resources and supplies to the moon to support NASA’s Artemis initiative. The Artemis plan aims to send humans to the moon by 2024.
It also includes carrying heavy equipment, such as equipment for chemical experiments such as the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), which Rover and NASA use to find water on the moon. These equipment will be used for major research on the realization of lunar habitation and creating environments for astronauts to permanently place on the lunar surface while living or working on the moon.
NASA opted for an external corporate contract to minimize costs and execute plans quickly. These companies expect to carry commercial loads simultaneously in addition to screwing equipment to lower total cost. Firms bid on issues with a total contract value of $2.6 billion by November 2028, and NASA makes choices in terms of cost and technology based on performance and when it will be realized.
Meanwhile, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has announced a partnership with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper for an end-to-end landing system. In addition, SpaceX aims to land its next spacecraft, Starship, on the moon as early as 2022 to support the Artemis program in 2024. Related information can be found here.