NASA announces contract awardees for lunar logistics and mobility tech
WASHINGTON - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that the agency has awarded $24 million in contracts to nine U.S. companies across seven states to develop strategies and technologies for managing logistical challenges on the lunar surface. These awards are part of the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP-2) Appendix R program, which supports the Artemis campaign and the agency's broader Moon to Mars architecture.
"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," said Nujoud Merancy, deputy associate administrator of NASA’s Strategy and Architecture Office. "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."
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The selected companies are tasked with exploring logistics and mobility solutions to address the complex challenges of operating in the lunar environment. Projects include developing advanced robotics, autonomous capabilities, and other innovative approaches to support long-term lunar exploration.
The awarded companies and their project focus areas are:
- Blue Origin, Merritt Island, Fla. – logistical carriers; logistics handling and offloading; logistics transfer; staging, storage, and tracking; surface cargo and mobility; and integrated strategies.
- Intuitive Machines, Houston, Texas – logistics handling and offloading; and surface cargo and mobility.
- Leidos, Reston, Va. – logistical carriers; logistics transfer; staging, storage, and tracking; trash management; and integrated strategies.
- Lockheed Martin, Littleton, Colo. – logistical carriers; logistics transfer; and surface cargo and mobility.
- MDA Space, Houston – surface cargo and mobility.
- Moonprint, Dover, Del. – logistical carriers.
- Pratt Miller Defense, New Hudson, Mich. – surface cargo and mobility.
- Sierra Space, Louisville, Colo. – logistical carriers; logistics transfer; staging, storage, and tracking; trash management; and integrated strategies.
- Special Aerospace Services, Huntsville, Ala. – logistical carriers; logistics handling and offloading; logistics transfer; staging, storage, and tracking; trash management; surface cargo and mobility; and integrated strategies.
The Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) oversees the NextSTEP-2 Appendix R program, focusing on several core objectives. These include identifying innovative logistics and mobility strategies, evaluating the maturity and feasibility of proposed technologies, and generating data to validate requirements and inform operational concepts.
This initiative also seeks to uncover synergies between logistics and mobility capabilities and address gaps in commercial offerings.
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