The Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program is a NASA initiative that contracts with commercial companies to deliver science and technology payloads to the lunar surface. These companies are responsible for end-to-end services, including payload integration, launch, landing, and operation on the Moon. CLPS aims to enable rapid, frequent, and affordable lunar access, supporting NASA's Artemis program by testing technologies, performing experiments, scouting for lunar resources, and demonstrating capabilities for future human missions. Key partners include Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, and Firefly Aerospace.
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The initial phase of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program averaged 14 months of schedule delay and roughly two missions per year.
NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program has 14 contracted missions and three additional pending missions, for a total of 17 missions under a $2.6 billion budget through 2028.
NASA established the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program to invest in private rides to the Moon and help spark a lunar economy.
Blue Ghost Mission 2 is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
No active Commercial Lunar Payload Services lander currently meets NASA’s Phase 1 four-metric-ton payload capacity specification.
As of February 2024, NASA had awarded eight Commercial Lunar Payload Services task orders valued at a combined $984.3 million after accounting for cost growth.
NASA’s Ignition initiative targets up to 30 robotic lunar landings starting in 2027 under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
NASA’s Ignition fact sheet specifies that Phase 1 Commercial Lunar Payload Services landers should carry up to four metric tons of payload per mission.
The first LightPort will fly on Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 2 lander as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.
NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program operates under an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract with 14 eligible vendors and a $2.6 billion ceiling value through November 2028.
A NASA Office of Inspector General audit published in June 2024 found that average schedule slippage across the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program was 14 months per task order.
A NASA Office of Inspector General audit published in June 2024 found that cost growth averaged 26 percent across the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
Redwire’s cameras captured photos on Firefly’s Blue Ghost flight and on Intuitive Machines missions under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
NASA awarded Intuitive Machines of Houston a $180.4 million contract to transport NASA-funded scientific and technological payloads to the lunar surface under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative and the Artemis program.
PROSPECT is a drill with an integrated analytical laboratory that is being developed for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services mission.
NASA is using the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative to tap private companies for autonomous cargo delivery and surface power.
NASA awarded Intuitive Machines a $180.4 million contract under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
NASA’s lunar base phase one will use Commercial Lunar Payload Services deliveries and the Lunar Terrain Vehicle program to increase activity on the lunar surface.
NASA is targeting up to 30 robotic Commercial Lunar Payload Services landings starting in 2027.
NASA aims to establish a permanent American presence on the Moon before 2030 by prioritizing commercially procured reusable hardware and increasing the cadence of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.