CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA is turning to private industry for the first lunar landers for astronauts in a half-century, with three competing, quite contrasting…
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. —
NASA is turning to private industry for the first lunar landers for astronauts in a half-century, with three competing, quite contrasting versions.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced Thursday the three companies that will develop, build and fly lunar landers, with the goal of returning astronauts to the moon in 2024 and ultimately on to Mars.
The companies are SpaceX in Hawthorne, Calif., led by Elon Musk; Blue Origin in Kent, Washington, founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos; and Dynetics, a Huntsville, Alabama, subsidiary of Leidos. Altogether, the contracts for the initial 10-month period total $967 million.
“This is the last piece that we need in order to get to the moon” by 2024, Bridenstine said.
He noted it will be the first lunar lander since the last Apollo moon mission in 1972.
Over the next 10 months, each company will refine its concept and NASA will decide which lander to test first. Bridenstine said NASA will go with the company that has the highest probability of success by 2024.
