NASA is pushing ahead with a moon base for astronauts by 2032, announcing up to $10 billion in contracts on Nov. 7. The centerpiece is CLPS 2, a 10-year framework for commercial lunar deliveries with a combined maximum value of $10 billion, for which NASA selected eight companies to compete. The ceiling is not money awarded up front. NASA also raised the cap on the existing CLPS contract from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion.
Blue Origin won a $94 million base contract, plus a $140 million performance option, to deliver PROMISE (Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration) on its Blue Moon lander. The nuclear-powered autonomous rover will carry a drill and instruments to search for water ice near the lunar south pole from late 2028. NASA also placed six launch and transport task orders worth about $1.3 billion with Arrow Science and Technology, Blue Origin and Impulse Space, and picked Honeybee Robotics, Redwire and Yank Technologies for a lunar power and communications tower.
The awards support Phase One of the Moon Base plan, which runs through 2029 and focuses on robotic exploration and commercial deliveries. Phase Two (2029-2032) builds out infrastructure before the base comes online.