On November 7th, NASA announced a wide range of contracts and mission development activities that will help further their plan to establish a long term human presence on the Moon. NASA’s announcements included; commercially delivered cargo to the lunar surface, a nuclear powered rover, orbiting transport systems, communication satellites and surface based infrastructure to support future surface operations.
The initiatives will provide the necessary foundation for future complex lunar missions by astronauts. NASA is not planning each landing as an individual trip, but rather as part of an overall system (or architecture) that will allow for multiple trips to the moon, scientific studies of the moon, and ultimately, building a lunar colony.
Under the new Commercial Lunar Payload Services framework called “CLPS 2,” which has a total value up to $10 billion and a duration of 10 years, there are eight companies competing for future lunar mission deliveries.
Eight companies selected for future lunar deliveries
The list of chosen businesses includes Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, ispace-U.S., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, SpaceX, and Voyager Technologies.
Eligible to bid on opportunities to deliver scientific instruments, technology demonstration payloads and/or infrastructure to the lunar surface.
NASA will use this framework to increase their ability to access more types of commercial products and services as well as provide flexibility when planning out the organization of future missions.
This is a total of $10 billion (max) that can be paid out under this agreement over time, but is not necessarily going to be given to the eight companies right away. Missions that are required by NASA will be granted to the eight companies as they receive future “task orders.”
NASA has also raised the maximum amount that can be spent under the existing CLPS contract from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion so as to help achieve early Moon base goals.
Commercial delivery services are now a major portion of NASA’s lunar exploration program since they enable NASA to acquire transportation and delivery service from outside the agency instead of building each system completely inside.
This strategy also provides a pathway for commercial businesses to create technologies that may ultimately allow for commercial operations on the moon and near-moon environments.
A nuclear-powered rover will investigate the lunar south pole
The main component of the announcement was PROMISE (Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration).
The six-wheel rover will explore the south pole of the Moon. There are areas on the Moon that never receive sunlight (permanently shadowed) and these areas could possibly hold ice or other important resources for scientists to study.
The rover will be equipped with a drilling device designed to extract material from the moon’s surface at a depth of about 1 meter. Scientists will use scientific equipment to analyze the chemical properties of the moon’s material, as well as cameras and other environmental sensors to gather additional data.
The rover will utilize a nuclear power source, enabling it to function during longer periods of time on the moon without sunlight and in areas of the moon that do not receive much direct sunlight.
The ability of these tools to study whether local resources can ultimately sustain longer-term missions is another advantage.
Water ice has significance since it may provide a source of water that can be utilized to support human life or split into hydrogen and oxygen. However, there are significant obstacles in providing such services, including establishing the existence of useful resources and developing appropriate technologies and facilities.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is responsible for managing the mission, as well as building the rover, by combining spare flight components with engineering test models from both the Curiosity and Perseverance Mars Rover Programs.
The use of existing and validated hardware and operational expertise may be used to lower initial cost of development and decrease the total amount of time necessary to get the vehicle ready for flight.
NASA is targeting a launch in late 2028 and has planned an 18-month mission.
Blue Origin was awarded a $94 million baseline contract to provide PROMISE on their Mark 1 lunar lander and can earn up to $140 million based upon how well they meet performance requirements.
Building a transportation network around the Moon
A long-term/continuous human presence on the moon requires more than just getting to the moon. In order to get to the moon, you need to transport equipment from Earth to lunar orbit and then to the surface of the moon. Each of these stages requires some form of communication/navigation system to help guide the process.
NASA will receive about $1.3 billion through six task orders from its Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare Program.
The missions will be designed to show off a number of skills such as moving through space (orbital), navigating around the moon (lunar) and delivering what is required to continue exploring in the future.
NASA has also selected SpaceX for the purpose of launching its communication satellite program via Starship in 2028 through a different lunar logistics contract.
A network of communications satellites placed in orbit above the moon could facilitate communication between astronauts on the surface, personnel working on missions from earth, vehicles and equipment on the surface, and other facilities located on the surface. As we move from short-term visits to longer-term operations that cover a greater portion of the lunar environment, having access to reliable communications will be of even greater importance.
The agency is also providing assistance for the creation of components that will be used in a Mini-Communications and Solar Tower (miniCAST). The proposed structure integrates power generation, energy storage and wireless power transfer capabilities.
Why the south pole matters
Because many of the areas that are always in the shade on the southern tip of the moon could contain water ice and other volatile substances, the area is a high priority for exploration.
These areas can be used to gather scientific data on the history of the moon, as well as the amount of resources that exist on the moon.
The extreme cold of operating near the south pole presents serious engineering issues. Harsh conditions including severe weather, very low temperatures, limited daylight hours and poor communications will affect how spacecraft and robots need to be built.
The use of robotic missions will allow for engineers to evaluate the environment prior to an astronaut’s arrival so that they can choose better places to land on Mars and find out what technology needs more work.
The information collected from the use of rovers, landers, and scientific instruments will be used to make future decisions regarding power supplies, mineral exploration/extraction, and housing development.
A long-term strategy rather than a single mission
The most recent awards from NASA represent a large-scale shift toward creating incremental capability for developing the moon.
The immediate goal is to provide scientific equipment, test technologies and create a foundation for long-term exploration. A sustained human presence will necessitate multiple launches, dependable landing craft, power generation, communication networks and proper environmental control of the moon.
The contracts announced do not indicate that there is currently an operational Moon Base. These contracts establish a foundation for developing and testing the technology required for making extended duration space travel possible.
Whether the program is successful depends upon the reliability of missions, financing, commercial viability, and how well we can combine various technological components into one comprehensive program.
If these proposed missions go forward as planned, it will help us learn how to better explore the moon’s southern polar region and give us some practice that we can use when we start exploring beyond our solar system.