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NASA will pay three companies to deliver cargo to the moon under Phase 1 of its lunar settlement plans. The contracts cover four missions and form part of a $10 billion effort expected to run through 2028. Cnn reported the announcement on Tuesday.
theregister.comNASA will pay about $590 million to Astrobotic, Firefly and Intuitive Machines for four missions to deliver science instruments and cargo to the moon, Cnn reported. The agency is also considering repurposing the Mars rover nicknamed Promise for lunar use.
Carlos García-Galán, NASA’s program executive for the moon base, described the contracts as Phase 1 of a plan to build a permanent lunar settlement. Phase 1 is expected to last through 2028 and cost about $10 billion. NASA announced other Phase 1 deals last month that renamed three previously contracted missions as Moon Base specific.
In May the agency awarded additional contracts worth over $1 billion for lunar buggies and three or four drones. Phases 2 and 3 include building the first pressurized habitats and installing power generators on the moon in the 2030s. Blue Origin was scheduled to deliver its Blue Moon robotic lander prototype to the lunar south pole later this year.
In May one of Blue Origin’s rockets exploded on the launchpad. On Tuesday García-Galán stated NASA is looking at other options for the Blue Moon lander if Blue Origin’s timeline slips. The lunar south pole is believed to contain stores of water ice.
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vanguardngr.comTwo earthquakes struck northern Venezuela on June 24, followed by an aftershock on June 26. Rescue teams from 30 countries are searching rubble while 680,000 children need aid.
abcnews.go.comA federal judge temporarily halted enforcement of a Defense Department policy requiring escorts for all reporters inside the Pentagon. The order was issued in a First Amendment challenge brought by The New York Times. The policy had been adopted after an earlier court ruling stru…
freepressjournal.inSaab signed a contract with Sweden's defense procurement agency to supply 16 Gripen E fighters valued at SEK 24.6 billion. The jets will be delivered to Sweden between 2029 and 2030 before transfer to Ukraine.