NASA to pull an IKEA by dropping tons of plastic, metal, and glass on the Moon

Summary

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. “We can't force a lunar economy into existence. I suspect in the years, decades ahead as we build and operate what's hopefully multiple lunar outposts that we will uncover something along the way,” Isaacman said. “This is a step in the right direction.”Blue Origin received a $188 million task order, plus a $280.4 million option period, to deliver NASA’s lunar terrain vehicles to the South Pole region using its Mark 1 uncrewed lander. The same lander variant will fly the first mission in the series, designated Moon Base I, which NASA says will carry science payloads to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge no earlier than fall 2026.Astrolab and Lunar Outpost won contracts worth $219 million and $220 million respectively to build crewed and autonomou...