NASA gives more lunar lander contracts to three US companies

NASA selected three more companies to send robotic landers to the moon as part of efforts to establish a lunar base before the end of the decade.

The agency announced on June 30 two awards to Astrobotic Technology Inc totalling about US$298 million (S$385.61 million), one for about US$144 million to Firefly Aerospace Inc and another for about US$148 million to Intuitive Machines Inc. 

NASA is also considering plans to send to the moon the Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration (Promise), a test version of the agency’s Mars rovers. 

“We’ve got the hardware and this is exactly what we should be trying to do, to put wins on the board, getting a capability like Promise to the surface of the moon,” said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman at a media briefing. 

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