/sci/ - Science & Math

>>15787526
> Intuitive Machines has won three task orders, and Astrobotic and Firefly Aerospace, headquartered in Central Texas, have each won two. Draper Laboratory and Masten Space Systems also received CLPS task orders from NASA, but Masten filed for bankruptcy last year, and that mission was canceled. NASA will move payloads assigned to the Masten lander to missions contracted to other companies.
>Aside from the program's scientific purpose, CLPS was established to provide business opportunities for startups that could grow into long-term partners for NASA's lunar ambitions. Some CLPS contractors are also working on other technologies, such as power generation, data relay, and rovers, that could become crucial capabilities to support longer-duration astronaut stays on the Moon's surface.
> Early in the CLPS program, Zurbuchen guessed the initial batches of CLPS lander missions might have a 50-50 chance of success. NASA officials watched intently as private ventures like the Israeli Beresheet lunar lander and the Hakuto-R lander from the Japanese company ispace crashed on the Moon. Those missions did not have any significant NASA involvement.
> The 14 companies in NASA's pool of CLPS providers include industry juggernauts like SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and Blue Origin. But the winners of CLPS task orders so far have been smaller enterprises, with employee counts in the hundreds and not the thousands.