NASA Selects Three Companies for Moon Missions, Totaling Nearly $600M

NASA announced Tuesday the selection of three companies to land four new missions on the Moon in late 2028 as part of the agency's Moon Base Program. Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace (FLY), and Intuitive Machines (LUNR) will deliver NASA science payloads to the lunar surface as the agency builds the first outpost on another celestial world. "These new awards to our commercial partners, totaling nearly $600M to land more missions on the Moon with science payloads, demonstrate our commitment to accelerating our effort to build a long-term presence on the lunar surface, and give us more opportunity to develop the skills we need to prosper there," said Lori Glaze, associate administrator for the Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Astrobotic is awarded $297.9M total for two deliveries, as well as Firefly Aerospace $144.2M and Intuitive Machines $148.3M for one delivery each as part of the agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, a backbone of the Moon Base. Each will use updated versions of already-flown lander designs to enable NASA's increased mission cadence. Shares of Intuitive Machines are up 6.6%, while shares of Firefly Aerospace gained 3% in pre-market trading.