Commercial Lunar Payload Services

Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) is a NASA program to contract transportation services able to send small robotic landers and rovers to the Moon's south polar region mostly with the goals of scouting for lunar resources, testing in situ resource utilization (ISRU) concepts, and performing lunar science to support the Artemis lunar program. CLPS is intended to buy end-to-end payload services between Earth and the lunar surface using fixed priced contracts. The program was extended to add support for large payloads starting after 2025.

NASA's Science Mission Directorate operates the CLPS program in conjunction with the Human Exploration and Operations and Space Technology Mission Directorates. NASA expects the contractors to provide all activities necessary to safely integrate, accommodate, transport, and operate NASA payloads, including launch vehicles, lunar lander spacecraft, lunar surface systems, Earth re-entry vehicles and associated resources.

To date, eight missions have been contracted under the program (not counting one mission contract that was revoked after awarding).

History

NASA has been planning the exploration and use of natural lunar resources for many years. A variety of exploration, science, and technology objectives that could be addressed by regularly sending instruments, experiments and other small payloads to the Moon have been identified by NASA.

When the concept study on the '' Resource Prospector'' rover was cancelled in April 2018, NASA officials explained that lunar surface exploration will continue in the future, but using commercial lander services under a new CLPS program.NASA emphasizes commercial lunar lander plans with Resource Prospector cancellation
. Jeff Foust, ''Space News''. 28 April 2018. Later that April, NASA launched the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program as the first step in the solicitation for flights to the Moon.NASA cancels lunar rover, shifts focus to commercial moon landers
. Stephen Clark, ''Space News''. 1 June 2018. In April 2018, CLPS issued a Draft Request for Proposal, and in September 2018 the actual CLPS Request for Proposal was issued. The text of the formal solicitation and selected contractors are here:

On 29 November 2018, NASA announced the first nine companies that will be allowed to bid on contracts, which are indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts with a combined maximum contract value of $2.6 billion during the next 10 years.

In February 2018 NASA issued a solicitation for Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payloads that may become CLPS customers. Proposals were due by November 2018 and January 17, 2019. NASA makes yearly calls for proposals.

On May 31, 2019, NASA announced a list of awards, featuring Astrobotic, of Pittsburgh, Pa., $79.5 million; Intuitive Machines, of Houston, Texas, $77 million; and OrbitBeyond, $97 million; to launch their Moon landers. However, Orbit Beyond dropped out of this contract in July 2019 (with NASA acknowledging termination of contract on 29 July 2019), but remains a contractor able to bid on future missions.

On 1 July 2019, a US$5.6 million contract was awarded to Astrobotic and its partner Carnegie Mellon University to develop ''MoonRanger'', a rover to carry payloads on the Moon for NASA's CLPS.Astrobotic gets $5.6m NASA contract to develop MoonRanger rover
Brittany A. Roston, ''Slash Gear'' 1 July 2019 Launch is envisioned for either 2021 or 2022. The rover will carry science payloads yet to be determined and developed by other providers, that will focus on scouting and creating 3D maps of a polar region for signs of water ice or lunar pits for entrances to Moon caves. The rover would operate mostly autonomously for up to one week.