NASA has awarded new contracts totaling $590 million to Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines to send more robotic missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis program. The missions are planned to be carried out in late 2028. The aim is to make commercial landing systems reliable before manned Moon missions and future Moon bases.
NASA has launched a new wave of agreements with private companies to accelerate its plans to return to the Moon. The US space agency awarded contracts worth a total of 590 million dollars, approximately 27.5 billion TL, to three companies developing unmanned lunar landing vehicles.
The new missions will be carried out by Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines. With these missions, NASA aims to send scientific instruments, sensors and experiments to the Moon surface more frequently.
THE BIGGEST SHARE TO ASTROBOTIC
Astrobotic received the largest share of the contracts. The Pittsburgh-based company signed a $297.9 million deal for two separate lander missions. This amount corresponds to approximately 13.9 billion TL.
Firefly Aerospace was awarded a $144.2 million contract for a single Moon landing mission. Intuitive Machines was given $148.3 million for a single landing mission.
All of these missions are considered part of NASA's first phase plan to increase commercial landing capacity on the lunar surface.
THE MOON RACE HAS ACCEPTED
NASA's Moon plans are not just about scientific discoveries. The USA wants to establish a long-term presence on the Moon with the Artemis program. This goal includes more challenging steps such as manned landings, surface infrastructure and a Moon base planned to be established in the future.
NASA officials emphasize that systems that can land reliably on the lunar surface must be tested many times before moving on to these big goals. Because in the coming years, these landing vehicles will carry much more expensive and critical loads to the Moon surface.
Carlos García-Galán, responsible for NASA's Moon base studies, stated that making a reliable landing on the Moon surface is one of the basic parts of the program and that many tests should be carried out in different regions.
PRIVATE COMPANIES ARE AHEAD
Private companies are taking on a greater role in NASA's new strategy. The agency purchases space for its own scientific payloads on landers to be sent to the Moon. So, while companies develop and operate the vehicles, NASA uses these platforms for scientific experiments and exploration missions.
This approach aims to both reduce costs and enable the US private sector to gain more experience in landing on the Moon.
The missions will carry scientific devices, sensors and experiment packages that will examine the lunar surface. This data will be used for future manned missions and persistent surface operations.
NOT EVERY ATTEMPT WAS SUCCESSFUL
Although the goal of landing on the Moon with private companies has gained momentum in recent years, the process did not proceed smoothly. Astrobotic's Peregrine mission failed in January 2024 due to problems shortly after launch.
Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander managed to reach the lunar surface in February 2024, but crashed after landing. In another attempt of the company in 2025, the vehicle tilted on its side again and a significant part of the scientific loads on it could not fulfill their planned duties.
The most remarkable success in this field came from Firefly. The company's Blue Ghost lander managed to land safely and vertically on the lunar surface in March 2025. Thus, Firefly became the first private company to achieve this.
COMPETITION WITH CHINA
There is also global competition behind NASA's Moon move. The United States is trying to accelerate Artemis to counter China's progress on the Moon program. The goal is not just to send humans to the Moon again; to establish a permanent and sustainable presence there.
Therefore, robotic landing missions are seen as a rehearsal for future manned missions. As it is proven that a reliable landing on the lunar surface can be made, larger scientific payloads, energy systems, life support infrastructure and manned mission equipment will also be able to be transported by these vehicles.
