NASA has reveal a handful of detail about its new plan to send off humans back to the Moon , saying it hop to return to the surface within a decade .
In an outcome yesterday at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC , NASA said it had selectednine US companiesthat would be welcomed to bid on contract bridge to return to the Moon , “ including payload integration and operation , launching from Earth and landing on the surface of the Moon . ”
Among the company were Astrobotic Technology , who are hoping to send a rover to the Moon in 2019 , and Firefly Aerospace , which is aiming to build new small rockets to launch into space . They have each been present a Commercial Lunar Payload Services ( CLPS ) contract .
The event foreground NASA ’s raise commitment to return to the Moon , shifting the stress from Mars for the time being . They are hoping to build a distance station near the Moon called theDeep Space Gateway(DSG ) to replace the International Space Station ( ISS ) in the come X , before head to the surface .
“ I think that it is potential we can have a mien on the moon with humans within a tenner , ” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said at the event .
As part of the announcement , each company will be eligible for funding from a pot of up to $ 2.6 billion over the next 10 age . Each has been given a pocket-size amount up front , although it ’s not remove the full amount each could be eligible for .
“ When we go to the moon , we want to be one customer of many client in a full-bodied marketplace between the Earth and the moonlight , ” Bridenstine said . “ We desire multiple providers that are vie on cost and innovation . ”
The first delegation as part of this financial backing , as yet unspecified , could take piazza as betimes as 2019 – althoughSpaceNewsnoted that 2020 was more realistic . It ’s also not entirely clear what NASA is planning to launch , with many specifics still yet to be worked out .
Nonetheless , NASA is hoping this investiture can assist kickstart the geographic expedition of the Moon . “ These early missions will enable important applied science demonstrations that will inform the development of next landers and other exploration systems needed for humans to recall to the lunar surface , and serve organise the office to send astronaut to explore Mars , ” they said in astatement .
