After years of delays, NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon commenced in a big way more than two years ago, starting with the unmanned Artemis 1 in November 2022. The legacy is continuing now with NASA announcing on Thursday that it is awarding new study contracts to nine companies in seven states with a combined total of $24 million. Those companies will develop strategies and technologies for humans to live and work on the Moon.
The beneficiaries include Blue Origin, which is controlled by Amazon and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos. Other companies include Intuitive Machines, Leidos, Lockheed Martin, MDA Space, Moonprint, Pratt Miller Defense, Sierra Space and Special Aerospace Services. They will provide a wide range of scientific and technological services, from developing spacecraft and solving biological problems to figuring out the logistics of advanced space travel.
“These contract awards are the catalyst for developing critical capabilities for the Artemis missions and the everyday needs of astronauts for long-term exploration on the lunar surface,” Nujoud Merancy, deputy associate administrator of Strategy and Architecture Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in a statement. “The strong response to our request for proposals is a testament to the interest in human exploration and the growing deep-space economy. This is an important step to a sustainable return to the Moon that, along with our commercial partners, will lead to innovation and expand our knowledge for future lunar missions, looking toward Mars.”
Artist’s rendering of astronauts managing logistics on the lunar surface. (NASA)
The Artemis campaign began under President Donald Trump’s first term with the goal of reviving U.S. Moon exploration. In the interim, the Artemis program has been beset with technical and logistical issues, but Trump and his adviser SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have vowed to sweep through those issues in his second term. Their goal is to put America not just on the Moon, but also on Mars, though it’s not clear if humans could actually survive there or not. Three weeks ago, Musk said that the Moon is a “distraction” and that a manned mission to the Red Planet would take precedence over moon bases.
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