NASA awards new lunar payload contracts to Firefly, Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic

NASA has awarded new lunar payload delivery contracts to Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic, according to a Wall Street Journal report published June 30. The reported task orders would add more work to NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program and keep the agency’s commercial Moon delivery pipeline active through the end of 2028.

The new awards would expand a program NASA uses to buy lunar delivery services from private companies rather than fly every payload itself. CLPS is one of the agency’s main tools for moving science and technology instruments to the Moon while building out a broader commercial lunar market.

The WSJ reported that the missions will carry identical payloads to the Moon. Those payloads are meant to gather data on the lunar environment, identify landing hazards and place location markers for future missions.

Reported award split

According to the report, Astrobotic received two flights worth about $298 million. Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines each received one mission, with reported values of about $144 million and $148 million, respectively.

The missions are reportedly targeted for completion by the end of 2028. The available reporting does not include an official NASA release confirming the task orders, so the awards are being described here on the basis of the WSJ account and NASA’s existing CLPS framework.

Why the contracts matter

The awards add more public money to NASA’s lunar delivery pipeline at a time when the agency is still working toward longer-term Artemis-era infrastructure on and around the Moon. They also widen the set of commercial missions expected to feed data into future landing and surface operations.

The payloads themselves are practical rather than symbolic. NASA wants information that can improve landing safety, characterize the lunar environment and help future spacecraft navigate specific surface locations.

That kind of reconnaissance becomes more important as lunar activity shifts from occasional demonstrations to repeatable missions. Each successful delivery can help reduce uncertainty for later cargo flights, scientific deployments and other surface work.

The companies already have lunar history

All three contractors have prior ties to NASA’s commercial lunar effort. That matters because these awards are not going to newcomers; they are going to providers NASA has already used or tested under CLPS.

Firefly recently logged a major success when its Blue Ghost mission landed on the Moon in March 2025, according to prior coverage. That gave the company a proven landing under the same broad program NASA is using for these new orders.

Intuitive Machines has had a more uneven record. Its IM-2 mission launched in February 2025 and ended in March 2025 with the lander on its side after landing, according to prior coverage.

Astrobotic has also been part of NASA’s commercial lunar cargo effort, and the reported new task orders would give it two more Moon flights under the program. The split suggests NASA is continuing to spread work across several providers rather than relying on a single contractor.

What to watch next

The next developments to watch are an official NASA announcement, company statements from Firefly, Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic, and more detail on the individual payloads.

Open questions include whether the reported dollar figures and mission counts remain final, what exact payloads will fly on each mission and how NASA plans to sequence the launches within the 2028 delivery window.

For now, the reported awards suggest NASA is still expanding its commercial Moon strategy even after mixed results from earlier landings and mission attempts. The contracts also underscore how central CLPS has become to the agency’s lunar logistics planning.