NASA Expands Lunar Program: CLPS Contract Cap Raised by $1.6 Billion
NASA is increasing the maximum value of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion, according to an April 27 procurement filing. The contract currently includes 13 companies eligible to compete for task orders and expires in 2028, with a follow-on contract (CLPS 2.0) under planning.
Background
NASA has awarded task orders totaling less than $2 billion to date. The increase suggests the agency plans to award more missions or more valuable missions over the next two years. At the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium spring meeting on April 29, Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA's Science Mission Directorate, stated that the agency expects to buy more CLPS missions.
Lunar Base Plans
At NASA's "Ignition" event on March 24, the agency outlined plans for a lunar base called Moon Base, projecting nine robotic lunar landings in 2027 and ten in 2028. This represents a significant increase from current flight rates: two lander missions in 2025 and up to four projected for 2026. Kearns noted a target of monthly landings to support Moon Base.
Industry Response
Representatives from CLPS companies discussed production capabilities:
- Firefly Aerospace: Farah Zuberi, director of spacecraft mission management, said the company has three landers in production (Blue Ghosts 2, 3, and 4) and has added clean room space to support up to eight spacecraft simultaneously.
- Blue Origin: Eddie Seyffert, director of civil space, stated that the first Blue Moon Mark 1 lander (Endurance) is finishing testing, and components for the second Mark 1 lander, intended for NASA's VIPER rover in 2027, are being manufactured at Lunar Plant 1.
- Astrobotic: Dan Hendrickson, vice president of business development, said the company has scaled up facilities to meet demand for its original CLPS mission and has "the basic DNA and roadmap" to meet higher demand.
- Intuitive Machines: Ben Bussey, chief scientist, highlighted supply chain as a key issue for ramping up production to multiple missions per year. He noted that early landers were "slightly bespoke" but that standardization is likely as flight rates increase.
Seyffert suggested that building landers to a standard design ("build-to-print") could be a response to NASA's plans.