Stories about opportunities and missions on the Moon.
The contract—part of NASA’s NextSTEP-2 Appendix R set of studies—tasks Sierra Space with examining how it would upgrade its LEO space station technology to withstand the lunar environment, given the Moon’s sharp regolith and extra gravity.
CEO Steve Altemus hopes to win new NASA Moon contracts in 2025.
The Trump administration’s proposed budget for NASA focuses on beating China back to the Moon and sending the first humans to Mars at the expense of every other part of the space agency’s budget.
It is scheduled to carry four astronauts around the Moon in early 2026.
Payload spoke with several companies building next-gen lunar rovers—including Astrolab, ispace, Intuitive Machines, and Lunar Outpost—about the biggest challenges and opportunities in this sector.
The lander is now working on a series of tasks that will last a lunar day—about 14 Earth days—and a few hours into the lunar night.
The sci fi dreams—and economic boom—that would be fulfilled by establishing a long-term lunar presence all hinge on one thing: the ability to locate, extract, and process water ice on the Moon’s surface.
”[T]ier one mining companies are taking notice…now they’re looking to put their foot on the gas.”
The first Lunar Terrain Vehicle is expected to touch down in 2029.
The company is now managing instruments on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
“There’s just really no certification standard yet for this type of flight software.”
A lunar satellite constellation that harnesses solar power and uses lasers to beam it down to landers and rovers.
