NASA contracts eight firms for next lunar cargo phase

NASA has awarded contracts to eight companies to advance the next stage of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, aiming to expand the cargo lander network for the Moon Base. The selected firms include Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, iSpace US, Lockheed Martin Space, Northrop Grumman Space Systems, SpaceX and Voyager. In the same announcement, NASA introduced a nuclear‑powered rover named PROMISE and Administrator Jared Isaacman said the deals broaden nearly every aspect of the Moon Base campaign, with astronauts set to arrive on a partially built base.