NASA has signed agreements with three private companies in pursuit of its goal to establish a permanent settlement on the lunar surface. During a press conference, it was announced that a total of $590 million will be paid to the firms Astrobotic, Firefly and Intuitive Machines for scientific equipment and cargo transportation.
First phase to last until 2028
Carlos Garcia-Galan, the executive director of the lunar base program, stated that these agreements are part of the "first phase." This phase is planned to continue until 2028 and be completed with a budget of $10 billion. The phase aims to deliver landing vehicles, rockets, exploration robots and other logistical elements to the Moon.
In later phases covering the period after 2030, the construction of the first pressurized living modules on the lunar surface and the installation of power generators are envisaged.
Explosion at Blue Origin pressures the timeline
Operational setbacks with private partners were also addressed. An unmanned New Glenn rocket belonging to American businessman Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin exploded on its launch pad in May. It was stated that this incident jeopardized the launch schedule of the large robotic lander Blue Moon, which the company planned to send to the Moon's south pole this year.
NASA official Garcia-Galan said they are exploring alternative options to launch Blue Moon on another carrier rocket if necessary. The agency's president, Jared Isaacman, had previously emphasized in a statement that they would actively support overcoming the obstacles faced by private partners and would not watch developments from the sidelines.
Budget of $30 billion and political support
The total cost of the colossal project is expected to reach $30 billion. This sum constitutes a critical component of the Artemis program, which has already spent $100 billion so far. A test flight to the Moon was conducted as part of the program in April.
The US Congress fully supports the project as it wants to maintain technological superiority in the ongoing space race with China. Meanwhile, although the Trump administration has proposed cutting NASA's general science budget by approximately 50 percent, it aims to increase funding allocated for the lunar base with the goal of "establishing US dominance."
Gateway station shelved
As part of using financial resources effectively, NASA made a surprise decision in March to postpone the Gateway space station project planned for construction in lunar orbit. The agency cited that directing resources to facilities directly on the lunar surface rather than orbital infrastructure would be more efficient.
