National Aeronautics and Space Administration
US civil space agency. Its space-resources work includes the MOXIE oxygen-production demonstration on Mars (2021-2023), lunar volatile-prospecting payloads and spacecraft (PRIME-1, Lunar Flashlight, Lunar Trailblazer, the VIPER rover), and the Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative, whose technology areas include in-situ resource utilization (ISRU).
See it on the 3D Moon · See Bennu in 3D
An organization's level is recorded separately and is not a ranking of its linked missions' results. How the ladder works.
Facts
- Headquarters
- United States
- Type
- Government agency
- Founded
- 1958
- Status
- Activeas of 2026-09-25. Operating federal agency; NASA's own pages accessed 2026-09-25.
- Roles
- Prospecting, Processing / ISRU, Instrument / drill, Rover / mobility
- Targets
- Moon, Mars, Near-Earth asteroid
- Also known as
- NASA
- Website
- www.nasa.gov
Missions
31 records| Mission | Role | Launch or landing | Phase | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Moon Mark 1 (second lander) - VIPER deliverySpacecraft | Customer | Landing Planned 2027 H2 (target) | In development | Not applicable |
| Intuitive Machines CLPS south-pole delivery (2026 award, 2030 target)Spacecraft | Customer | Landing Planned 2030 (target) | Announced | Not applicable |
| Magna Petra HALO (Helium Availability of Lunar Origin) reconnaissance payloadPayload | Payload builder | Not recorded | In development | Not applicable |
| Prospect Moon (Interlune payload suite)Payload | Funder | Not recorded | In development | Not applicable |
| VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover)Payload | Operator | Landing Planned 2027 H2 (target) | In development | Not applicable |
| Chandrayaan-1Spacecraft | Payload owner | 2008-10-22 | Ended | Success |
| LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite)Spacecraft | Operator | 2009-06-18 | Ended | Success |
| OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer)Spacecraft | Operator | 2016-09-08 | Ended | Success |
| Mars 2020 Perseverance roverSpacecraft | Operator | 2020-07-30 | Surface operations | Not applicable |
| MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment)Instrument | Payload owner | 2020-07-30 | Ended | Success |
| HAKUTO-R Mission 1 (ispace M1 lander)Spacecraft | Customer | 2022-12-11 | Ended | Failure |
| Lunar FlashlightSpacecraft | Operator | 2022-12-11 | Ended | Failure |
| Masten Mission One (XL-1 lander, NASA CLPS task order TO19C)Spacecraft | Customer | Former plan: 2023-11Date detailsHistorical. The mission was cancelled. | Cancelled | Not applicable |
| Astrobotic Peregrine Mission OneSpacecraft | Customer | 2024-01-08 | Ended | Failure |
| Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1 (Ghost Riders in the Sky)Spacecraft | Customer | 2025-01-15 | Ended | Success |
| SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon (ispace Mission 2, RESILIENCE lander)Spacecraft | Customer | 2025-01-15 | Ended | Failure |
| TENACIOUS micro-rover (ispace-EUROPE)Payload | Customer | 2025-01-15 | Ended | Failure |
| Intuitive Machines IM-2 (Athena lander)Spacecraft | Customer | 2025-02-26 | Ended | Partial |
| Lunar Outpost Lunar Voyage 1 (MAPP rover on IM-2)Payload | Customer | 2025-02-26 | Ended | Failure |
| Lunar TrailblazerSpacecraft | Operator | 2025-02-26 | Ended | Failure |
| PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1)Payload | Payload owner | 2025-02-26 | Ended | Partial |
| Puli Lunar Water Snooper (PLWS) on IM-2Instrument | Funder | 2025-02-26 | Ended | Unknown |
| TransAstra 1-meter Capture Bag ISS demonstrationPayload | Funder | 2025-09 | Ended | Success |
| METAL multispectral camera (Interlune / NASA Ames) on Griffin-1Instrument | Payload builder | Planned 2026 H2 (target) | Manifested | Not applicable |
| Griffin Mission One (Griffin-1, NASA Moon Base II)Spacecraft | Customer | Planned, no earlier than 2026-11 | In development | Not applicable |
| Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 2 (Riders 2 the Dark)Spacecraft | Customer | Planned, no earlier than 2027 | In development | Not applicable |
| Intuitive Machines IM-4 (Nova-C lander, NASA CLPS task order CP-22)Spacecraft | Customer | Planned 2027 (target) | In development | Not applicable |
| PROSPECT (Package for Resource Observation, in-Situ Prospecting for Exploration, Characterisation & Testing)Payload | Customer | Planned 2027 (target) | Manifested | Not applicable |
| PROMISE (Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration)Spacecraft | Operator | Planned 2028 H2 (target)Date detailsSchedule announced 2026-11-07. Record checked 2026-11-10. | In development | Not applicable |
| Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 4 (NASA CLPS task order CS-6, lunar south pole)Spacecraft | Customer | Planned, no earlier than 2029 | In development | Not applicable |
| MoonRanger micro-rover (Astrobotic / Carnegie Mellon University, Neutron Spectrometer System)Payload | Payload owner, Funder | Planned, no earlier than 2029 | Manifested | Not applicable |
Dated events
Amounts are shown one at a time as each source states them. They are never added together.
- 2026-11-07
NASA selects eight companies for CLPS 2 lunar deliveries ($10 billion combined maximum)
NASA selected eight companies as eligible to compete for future lunar surface delivery missions under CLPS 2: Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, ispace-U.S., Lockheed Martin Space, Northrop Grumman Space Systems, SpaceX and Voyager Technologies. CLPS 2 is a 10-year, multiple-award master contract with a combined maximum value of $10 billion; that maximum is a ceiling, not money awarded to any company. NASA also raised the current CLPS contract's value from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion.
Sources (3) and evidence gaps
NASA selected eight companies for the next phase of its CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. The companies are eligible to compete for future lunar surface delivery missions under the new CLPS 2 contract: Blue Origin Firefly Aerospace Intuitive Machines ispace-U.S. Lockheed Martin Space Northrop Grumman Space Systems SpaceX Voyager Technologies
The CLPS 2 framework is a 10-year, multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity master contract with a combined maximum value of $10 billion.
NASA increased the value of the current CLPS 1.0 contract from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion to support initial Phase One Moon Base objectives.
- NASA's release names no CLPS 2 task order. Lockheed Martin Space and Northrop Grumman Space Systems have no record in this dataset, so they are named here and not linked.
- 2026-11-07
NASA award to Blue Origin to deliver the PROMISE rover ($94 million base)
NASA awarded Blue Origin a $94 million base contract to deliver the PROMISE rover to the lunar South Pole, with an option period worth an additional $140 million based on performance. NASA says the award expands the task order awarded in May 2026 to deliver two lunar terrain vehicles.
Sources (3) and evidence gaps
NASA awarded Blue Origin a $94 million base contract, with an option period worth an additional $140 million based on performance to deliver PROMISE to the lunar South Pole.
The award expands the task order awarded in May 2026 to deliver two lunar terrain vehicles to the Moon.
The PROMISE rover will carry a drill to extract regolith, or lunar dust, to characterize ice and other resources from approximately 3 feet (1 meter) below the surface
- The release gives no task-order number or delivery date for this award.
- 2026-10-27
eXaminArt NASA SBIR Phase II contract for the Lunar Materials Analyzer
NASA definitive contract 80NSSC27C0051, signed 2026-10-27, is titled as a Phase II SBIR for the Lunar Materials Analyzer (LuMA). The performance period on the snapshot is 2026-11-04 through 2028-11-03. The snapshot records $1,265,027 obligated and the same amount for the base contract plus all options. It does not report a total outlay. Separate account-level obligation and outlay fields both show zero; their relationship to the award totals was not established. The obligation is not evidence of payment.
Sources (8) and evidence gaps
"description":"PHASE II SBIR - LUNAR MATERIALS ANALYZER (LUMA)"
"date_signed":"2026-10-27"
"start_date":"2026-11-04"
"total_obligation":1265027.0
"total_account_outlay":0
"total_outlay":null
"base_and_all_options":1265027.0
"total_account_obligation":0
- The award total and the separate account-level totals are different reported fields; their relationship was not established. A missing total outlay is not a reported zero payment. Technical fields in the snapshot: total_obligation=1265027.0; base_and_all_options=1265027.0; total_account_obligation=0; total_account_outlay=0; total_outlay=null.
- No Phase II technical abstract or report was captured, so the title is not evidence that a regolith analyzer has been built.
- 2026-09-30
NASA selects three PRISM payload suites for Moon Base, including the DISCO lunar-ice instrument
NASA selected three lunar-surface investigations through its PRISM program to fly on future CLPS deliveries. One, DISCO (principal investigator at NASA Ames), is meant to make on-the-ground measurements of ice in lunar micro-cold traps. The release names no lander, delivery date or award value.
Sources (3) and evidence gaps
NASA selected three new scientific investigations and their payload suites to advance our knowledge of the Moon and help pave the way for building humanity’s first lunar outpost, Moon Base.
The DISCO payload will provide the first direct, on-the-ground measurements of ice hidden in lunar micro-cold traps and also will lay the groundwork for lunar resource utilization and surface operations.
selected through NASA’s Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) program and will fly to the lunar surface using the CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative
- The release names no lander, CLPS task order, delivery date or dollar value for the three payload suites.
- 2026-09-28
AeroFly NASA Phase II contract for auger-based lunar water-vapor extraction
The federal record identifies NASA SBIR Phase II contract 80NSSC26C0090, signed 2026-09-28, for sbir phase ii continuous auger-based water vapor extraction from icy lunar regolith. As captured on 2026-10-31, the record reports USD 1,274,996 in total obligations; this is not a payment total or an amount established as newly obligated on the signing date.
Sources (5) and evidence gaps
SBIR PHASE II CONTINUOUS AUGER-BASED WATER VAPOR EXTRACTION FROM ICY LUNAR REGOLITH
AEROFLY LLC
"total_obligation":1274996.0
"date_signed":"2026-09-28"
"start_date":"2026-09-30","end_date":"2028-09-29"
- The structured amount is left unset because the captured value is cumulative total_obligation, not the amount newly awarded or paid on the original signing date. The attributed snapshot value is preserved in the summary.
- Contract performance and completed technical outcomes are not established by the award record.
- 2026-09-23
Torres Orbital Mining NASA SBIR Phase I contract for a sealed regolith sample-handling intake
The federal record identifies NASA SBIR Phase I contract 80NSSC26C0357, signed 2026-09-23, for a non-ejective intake bit: a dual-stage sealed architecture for contamination-controlled lunar and planetary regolith sample handling. As captured on 2026-10-31, the record reports USD 214,143 in total obligations and no reported outlay (total_outlay is null); this is not a payment total, a flight or a test result.
Sources (6) and evidence gaps
SBIR PHASE I NON-EJECTIVE INTAKE BIT (NIB): A DUAL-STAGE SEALED ARCHITECTURE FOR CONTAMINATION-CONTROLLED LUNAR AND PLANETARY REGOLITH SAMPLE HANDLING
"recipient_name":"TORRES ORBITAL MINING INC"
"date_signed":"2026-09-23"
"start_date":"2026-09-30","end_date":"2027-03-30"
"total_obligation":214143.0
"total_outlay":null
- The structured amount is left unset because the captured value is the cumulative total_obligation at capture, not an amount established as paid; the attributed snapshot value is in the summary.
- Contract performance and technical outcomes are not established by the award record.
- 2026-07-09
NASA CLPS CP-12 task order ended; ispace-U.S. subcontract to terminate
ispace disclosed that NASA and Draper mutually ended CLPS task order CP-12 effective 2026-07-09 (U.S. Mountain Time); ispace-U.S.'s subcontract with Draper to provide the lander is expected to be terminated.
Sources (3) and evidence gaps
On July 9, 2026 (U.S. Mountain Time), the mutual end of the contract related to CLPS* Task Order CP-12 entered into between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ("NASA") and The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. ("Draper") was effectuated.
Draper has mutually agreed with NASA to end the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) task order CP-12.
While the termination of CP-12 is a negative, we view the major business opportunities we are now focusing on as extremely positive.
- Draper is not recorded as an organization here, so no counterparty is linked. The final subcontract termination notice was not found.
- 2026-05-26
NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle Phase 1 task order to Lunar Outpost ($220 million)
NASA awarded Lunar Outpost $220 million under the Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract to build and deliver its Pegasus rover, aiming for deployment by 2028; this is a mobility award, not a resource contract.
Sources (2)
NASA has awarded Astrolab $219 million and Lunar Outpost $220 million to build and deliver the first phase of LTVs.
today announced that NASA has selected the company as one of two providers for a High Achievability Mission task order under its Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services (LTVS) contract.
- 2026-03-27
NASA CLPS award to Intuitive Machines for a 2030 south-pole delivery ($180.4 million)
NASA awarded Intuitive Machines $180.4 million to deliver seven payloads to the south polar region, targeted for 2030, including volatile- and ice-measuring instruments.
Sources (2)
NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines of Houston, $180.4 million to deliver NASA-funded science and technology to the lunar surface
MSolo measures low molecular weight volatiles, which can be used as resources on the lunar surface.
- 2026-02-24
NASA SBIR Phase III contract to Interlune for Prospect Moon
NASA awarded Interlune SBIR Phase III contract 80NSSC26C0002 ($6,893,204, signed 2026-02-24) for 'Prospect Moon', a lunar resource technology demonstration and prospecting payload; NASA announced the award in May 2026.
Sources (2)
"total_obligation":6893204.0,"subaward_count":0,"total_subaward_amount":null,"date_signed":"2026-02-24"
To advance ISRU technologies, NASA has awarded a firm-fixed-price contract of $6.9 million over the next year and a half to Interlune of Seattle
- 2026-01-27
NASA STTR Phase I contract to Interlune (lunar trenching)
NASA awarded Interlune STTR Phase I contract 80NSSC26C0029 ($150,000, signed 2026-01-27) for a scalable lunar trenching implement, with the Colorado School of Mines; Interlune announced it on 2026-02-04.
Sources (2) and evidence gaps
STTR PHASE I SCALABLE IMPLEMENT FOR LUNAR TRENCHING
The $150,000 contract will focus on developing analytical models, engineering standards, and testing hardware to inform the future design of Interlune's multipurpose lunar trenching and excavation technology.
- USAspending also lists an earlier record with the same title (80NSSC25C0229, $0, 2025-09-29); relationship not explained
- 2025-10-06
ispace-EUROPE to provide MSOLO rover services for Magna Petra (USD 22 million PSA)
ispace-EUROPE announced a USD 22 million payload service agreement with Magna Petra to integrate NASA's MSOLO mass spectrometer on an ispace-EUROPE micro-rover for Magna Petra's HALO helium-3 reconnaissance mission; the release placed the rover on ispace-U.S.'s APEX 1.0 lander (then 'Mission 3').
Company statements only. No independent or government source is recorded here.
Sources (5) and evidence gaps
ispace-EUROPE and Magna Petra Corp. sign total amount of $22 million USD Payload Service Agreement (PSA) to carry NASA’s MSOLO instrument to the lunar surface on the Mission 3 rover.
ispace-EUROPE will integrate a NASA-developed Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) instrument into its upcoming Mission 3 lunar micro-rover platform as part of Magna Petra's Helium Availability of Lunar Origin (HALO) reconnaissance mission.
The Mission 3 rover will fly on ispace technologies U.S.' (ispace-U.S.) APEX 1.0. lunar lander
This brings the total contract value for Mission 3 to $86 million USD, up from $64 million USD.
today announced the execution of a $22 million Payload Service Agreement (PSA) with ispace-EUROPE S.A.
- Which ispace mission now carries the MSOLO rover after the March 2026 renumbering and the July 2026 CP-12 termination is not stated.
- TSE timely-disclosure PDF not retrieved; payment terms and the effect of the March 2026 mission re-plan on this contract not disclosed.
- 2025-09-23
NASA CCRPP contract to scale TransAstra Capture Bag to 10 meters
TransAstra announced a $2.5 million NASA Civil Commercial Research and Products Program contract, matched by $2.5 million in private investment, to scale its Capture Bag from 1 to 10 meters; the company says the 10-meter bag could enclose small asteroids for mining.
Company statements only. No independent or government source is recorded here.
Sources (2) and evidence gaps
has been awarded a $2.5 million contract by NASA's Civil Commercial Research and Products Program (CCRPP) to scale its inflatable Capture Bag system from 1 to 10 meters in diameter
This CCRPP award is matched by $2.5 million in private investment
- NASA-side record of the award (company announcement only).
- 2025-09-23
NASA SBIR Phase I contract for Exploration Technology Group peroxide generation
USAspending identifies NASA contract 80NSSC25C0203, signed 2025-09-23, for SBIR Phase I work on a high-test peroxide generation system for monopropellant production from lunar water and oxygen. Captured on 2026-11-02, total_obligation and total_outlay are both 149330.0. That match is a federal-record snapshot, not a technical result or a separate proof of payment.
Sources (7) and evidence gaps
"description":"SBIR 1 HIGH-TEST PEROXIDE GENERATION SYSTEM FOR SCALABLE IN-SITU MONOPROPELLANT PRODUCTION FROM LUNAR WATER AND OXYGEN"
"date_signed":"2025-09-23"
"start_date":"2025-09-29"
"end_date":"2026-05-15"
"total_obligation":149330.0
"total_outlay":149330.0
"recipient_uei":"WTCDZLW2RV15"
- The structured amount is left unset. The captured total_obligation and total_outlay are equal snapshot fields on one award record, not a separately reviewed payment instrument.
- No technical report was captured, so obligation and outlay figures do not show that a bench prototype was built.
- 2025-09-19
NASA CLPS task order to Blue Origin for VIPER delivery
NASA awarded Blue Origin a CLPS task order, with an option, to deliver the VIPER water-ice prospecting rover to the lunar South Pole in late 2027 on a second Blue Moon MK1 lander. NASA gives a total potential value of $190 million.
Sources (2) and evidence gaps
The CLPS task order has a total potential value of $190 million.
NASA has awarded Blue Origin of Kent, Washington, a CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) task order with an option to deliver a rover to the Moon's South Pole region.
- Amount is total potential value including an option; exercise of the delivery option not confirmed
- 2025-09-08
eXaminArt NASA SBIR Phase I contract for the Lunar Materials Analyzer
NASA definitive contract 80NSSC25C0201, signed 2025-09-08, is titled as an SBIR I Lunar Materials Analyzer (LuMA). The performance period on the snapshot is 2025-09-29 through 2026-03-27. total_obligation and total_outlay on that snapshot are both 149491.0. The outlay field is the reported outlay on the award record, not a separate payment voucher. The NASA Phase I abstract describes a proposed regolith-composition monitor and concept work. It does not state this dollar figure.
Sources (7) and evidence gaps
"description":"SBIR I LUNAR MATERIALS ANALYZER (LUMA)"
"date_signed":"2025-09-08"
"end_date":"2026-03-27"
"total_obligation":149491.0
"total_outlay":149491.0
The Phase I research will focus on concept refinement and demonstration of feasibility
elemental composition of a lunar regolith feedstock
- The structured amount is left unset. Equal obligation and outlay fields on one snapshot are not a reviewed payment instrument.
- The federal description says SBIR I. The record name uses Phase I, which is the company homepage's wording for that award.
- The abstract's feasibility sentence is a plan for the Phase I effort, not a result.
- 2025-08-01
AeroFly NASA Phase II contract for vertical lunar-regolith conveyance
The federal record identifies NASA SBIR Phase II contract 80NSSC25C0087, signed 2025-08-01, for phase ii sbir vertical lunar regolith conveyance for in-situ resource utilization. As captured on 2026-10-31, the record reports USD 898,925 in total obligations; this is not a payment total or an amount established as newly obligated on the signing date.
Sources (5) and evidence gaps
PHASE II SBIR VERTICAL LUNAR REGOLITH CONVEYANCE FOR IN-SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION
AEROFLY LLC
"total_obligation":898925.0
"date_signed":"2025-08-01"
"start_date":"2025-08-05","end_date":"2027-08-05"
- The structured amount is left unset because the captured value is cumulative total_obligation, not the amount newly awarded or paid on the original signing date. The attributed snapshot value is preserved in the summary.
- Contract performance and completed technical outcomes are not established by the award record.
- 2025-05-09
ispace-U.S. Mission 3 moved from 2026 to no earlier than 2027
ispace-U.S. announced an engine change to Agile Space Industries' VoidRunner for its APEX 1.0 lander and moved its Mission 3 (Team Draper CP-12) launch from 2026 to no earlier than 2027.
Company statements only. No independent or government source is recorded here.
Sources (1)
The changes required engineering accommodation, leading to an update of the Mission 3 launch schedule from 2026 to 2027 for a successful lunar landing.
- 2025-05-05
NASA reports oxygen from lunar regolith simulant using Lunar Resources' LR-1 reactor
NASA Kennedy reported that its researchers and Lunar Resources ran molten regolith electrolysis in a vacuum chamber with the company's LR-1 reactor, producing and collecting molecular oxygen from about 25 kg of lunar regolith simulant while separating the oxygen from metals in the simulant. This was a ground test on simulant, not lunar material.
Sources (1) and evidence gaps
The extraction reactor heated about 55 pounds (25 kilograms) of simulated regolith up to a temperature of 3100
- Exact test dates beyond the 5 Dec 2024 photo caption not published.
- 2025-04-02
NASA Kennedy-Magna Petra Cooperative Research and Development Agreement for MSOLO
NASA reported that it signed a reimbursable Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Magna Petra on April 2 (2025) under which a second MSOLO mass spectrometer is to fly on a commercial rover selected by Magna Petra, with Magna Petra reimbursing NASA's integration and operations costs.
Sources (2) and evidence gaps
Signed on April 2, the reimbursable agreement is the first of its kind established at NASA Kennedy.
Under the agreement, Magna Petra will reimburse NASA for costs such as supporting MSOLO integration and testing with the rover
- Agreement value not disclosed; year of the 'April 2' signing inferred from the article date (2025-04-28).
- 2025
NASA SBIR Phase II award to Lunar Resources for IMMORTAL molten regolith electrolysis anode
SBIR.gov lists a 2025 NASA SBIR Phase II award of USD 849,999 to Lunar Resources for IMMORTAL, a long-life molten regolith electrolysis anode project for oxygen and metal production.
Sources (1) and evidence gaps
Immortal Molten Regolith Electrolysis Anode for Oxygen and Metals Extraction from Lunar Regolith (IMMORTAL) Amount: $849,999 Topic: Z12
- Award date within 2025 not shown on the portfolio page.
- 2024-09-30
Space Lab NASA Phase II EcoMine contract
The federal record identifies NASA SBIR Phase II contract 80NSSC24CA217, signed 2024-09-30, for phase ii-ignite - ecomine - bioregenerative mineral mining from lunar regolith. As captured on 2026-10-31, the record reports USD 899,778 in total obligations; this is not a payment total or an amount established as newly obligated on the signing date.
Sources (6) and evidence gaps
PHASE II-IGNITE - ECOMINE - BIOREGENERATIVE MINERAL MINING FROM LUNAR REGOLITH
SPACE LAB TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
"total_obligation":899778.0
"date_signed":"2024-09-30"
"start_date":"2024-09-30","end_date":"2027-05-31"
September 1, 2024 Award Start Date September 30, 2026 Award End Date
- The structured amount is left unset because the captured value is cumulative total_obligation, not the amount newly awarded or paid on the original signing date. The attributed snapshot value is preserved in the summary.
- Contract performance and completed technical outcomes are not established by the award record.
- Performance schedules conflict for contract 80NSSC24CA217: SBIR.gov reports 2024-09-01 to 2026-09-30, while the captured federal record reports 2024-09-30 to 2027-05-31. The reason for the discrepancy is unresolved; neither an extension nor completion is inferred.
- 2024-07-17
NASA announces intent to discontinue VIPER
NASA announced it would stop VIPER development, citing cost increases, launch delays and the risk of further cost growth, and invited expressions of interest in using the assembled rover at no cost to the government.
Sources (1)
NASA stated cost increases, delays to the launch date, and the risks of future cost growth as the reasons to stand down on the mission.
- 2024-06
Starpath places second in NASA's Break the Ice Lunar Challenge
NASA reports Starpath won a cumulative $838,461 across three levels of Phase 2 of the Break the Ice Lunar Challenge (excavating and hauling icy regolith) and placed second overall at the June 2024 finale.
Sources (1) and evidence gaps
A space hardware startup from Hawthorne, California, Starpath won a cumulative $838,461 across three levels of Phase 2 before winning second place overall at the challenge's live demonstration and finale in June 2024.
- Prize for the finale placement itself not separated from the Phase 2 cumulative figure
- 2024
NASA SBIR Phase I award to Lunar Resources for IMMORTAL molten regolith electrolysis anode
NASA awarded Lunar Resources a USD 149,999 SBIR Phase I contract for a long-life anode for molten regolith electrolysis to extract oxygen and metals from lunar regolith.
Sources (1) and evidence gaps
(IMMORTAL) Amount: $149,999 Topic: Z12
- Award date within 2024 not shown on the portfolio page.
- 2023-07
NASA Tipping Point award to Blue Origin for Blue Alchemist
NASA selected Blue Origin for a $34.7 million Tipping Point partnership to advance an end-to-end ISRU system designed to extract oxygen, iron, silicon and aluminum from regolith simulant and make solar cells and wire. Blue Origin said in July 2023 that an autonomous demonstration in a simulated lunar environment was expected by 2026.
Sources (2) and evidence gaps
Blue Origin of Kent, Washington, $34.7 million The company will advance an end-to-end in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) system that can extract oxygen, iron, silicon, and aluminum from lunar regolith simulant and use the extracted materials to produce solar cells and wire.
Today's investment will result in a demonstration of autonomous operation in a simulated lunar environment by 2026.
- NASA page dated 2023-07-24, Blue Origin release dated 2023-07-25; month precision used
- 2022-11-29
NASA SBIR Phase III award to ICON for Olympus lunar construction system
NASA awarded ICON a SBIR Phase III contract worth $57.2 million, running through 2028, to develop the Olympus construction system designed to use lunar and Martian regolith as building material.
Sources (1)
The new NASA SBIR Phase III award will support the development of ICON's Olympus construction system, which is designed to use local resources on the Moon and Mars as building materials. The contract runs through 2028 and has a value of $57.2 million.
- 2022
NASA SBIR Phase I award to Pioneer Astronautics for ALTAWS
SBIR.gov lists NASA SBIR Phase I contract 80NSSC22PB157 to Pioneer Astronautics for Alkaline Low-Temperature Aluminum from Waste Slag, with a total award amount of $156,491 and Award Year 2022. The record schedules performance from 21 July 2022 to 25 January 2023 and proposes feasibility work on aluminum, silicon and oxygen recovery from MMOST processing waste; later vacuum demonstrations and a lunar flight experiment are conditional plans.
Sources (7) and evidence gaps
Awardee PIONEER ASTRONAUTICS
Award Year: 2022
SBIR Phase I Awarding Agency NASA Total Award Amount: $156,491 Contract Number: 80NSSC22PB157
July 21, 2022 Award Start Date January 25, 2023 Award End Date
Aluminum is the primary target material, with side production of oxygen and silicon.
In Phase III, an optimized process would be developed into an ALTAWS flight experiment to be landed on the lunar surface.
from lunar regolith
- No exact award decision date is established; the record's performance start date is kept only as a schedule in the summary.
- The total award amount is not a verified payment, obligation or company-financing amount; it is not added to other awards as a financing total.
- The Phase I abstract proposes feasibility work. It does not establish a completed ALTAWS test, a subsequent Phase II or Phase III award, delivered hardware, or a lunar flight.
- 2020-12-03
NASA lunar regolith purchase contract to Masten Space Systems, $15,000
NASA selected Masten Space Systems to collect lunar regolith and transfer ownership in place to NASA for $15,000, following a planned 2023 South Pole landing. Masten never flew a lunar lander; Masten filed for Chapter 11 in July 2022; Astrobotic announced in September 2022 that it had acquired Masten, and a Chapter 11 plan of liquidation for Masten Space Systems, Inc. was later confirmed and reported effective. The fate of this contract is not documented in retrieved sources.
Sources (5) and evidence gaps
NASA has selected four companies to collect space resources and transfer ownership to the agency: Lunar Outpost of Golden, Colorado; Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California; ispace Europe of Luxembourg; and ispace Japan of Tokyo.
Masten Space Systems proposed collection for $15,000 following arrival in 2023 of a lander to the lunar South Pole.
Astrobotic announces today the acquisition of Masten Space Systems
Chapter 11 Voluntary Petition . Fee Amount $1738. Filed by Masten Space Systems, Inc.
Notice of Entry of Order Confirming, and Occurrence of Effective Date of Modified Combined Disclosure Statement and Chapter 11 Plan of Liquidation of Masten Space Systems, Inc.
- Termination, assignment, or other disposition of Masten's regolith contract after the 2022 acquisition not found in any primary source.
- Underlying confirmation-order and effective-date-notice PDFs were not retrieved; the precise effective date and completion of liquidation are not established by the retained docket entries.
- 2020-12-03
NASA lunar regolith purchase contract to Lunar Outpost, $1
NASA selected Lunar Outpost to collect lunar regolith and transfer ownership in place to NASA for $1. Lunar Outpost states NASA paid $0.10 on completion of the contract's Concept Review (August 2021) and that its MAPP rover on Intuitive Machines IM-2 (Lunar Voyage 1) was to make the collection; the lander came to rest on its side on 6 March 2025 and MAPP could not be deployed, so no collection occurred.
Sources (5) and evidence gaps
NASA has selected four companies to collect space resources and transfer ownership to the agency: Lunar Outpost of Golden, Colorado; Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California; ispace Europe of Luxembourg; and ispace Japan of Tokyo.
Lunar Outpost proposed collection for $1 following arrival of a lander to the lunar South Pole in 2023.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson presented a check for $0.10 to Lunar Outpost CEO, Justin Cyrus, for the successful completion of the Concept Review for that contract.
execute the first sale of space resources with NASA through regolith collection
The Nova-C lander ended up on its side with MAPP's garage wedged upside down under the lander, preventing MAPP's deployment to the lunar surface.
- Whether the contract remains open for a later Lunar Outpost mission is not stated in any retrieved source.
- No mission record exists here for Lunar Outpost Lunar Voyage 1 / MAPP on IM-2.
- 2020-12-03
NASA lunar regolith purchase contract to ispace Europe, $5,000
NASA selected ispace Europe (Luxembourg) to collect lunar regolith and transfer ownership in place to NASA for $5,000. ispace states ispace EUROPE met interim milestones and received a payment in September 2022. The collection was planned with the TENACIOUS rover on Mission 2 under Luxembourg's authorisation; the lander was lost in a likely hard landing on 6 June 2025 and ispace concluded the mission, so no collection took place.
Sources (5) and evidence gaps
NASA has selected four companies to collect space resources and transfer ownership to the agency: Lunar Outpost of Golden, Colorado; Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California; ispace Europe of Luxembourg; and ispace Japan of Tokyo.
ispace Europe proposed collection for $5,000 following arrival in 2023 of a lander to the lunar South Pole.
Companies will receive 10% of their total proposed price upon award, will receive 10% upon launch, and the remaining 80% upon successful completion.
- [4]ispace Receives Interim Payment on Lunar Regolith Transfer Contract from NASA (22 September 2022)
The payment is for achieving milestones in the second contract held by ispace EU.
It has been decided to conclude the mission.
- Amount of the 2022 milestone payment not stated; current contract status after Mission 2 not stated in any retrieved source.
- 2020-12-03
NASA lunar regolith purchase contract to ispace (Japan), $5,000
NASA selected ispace (Japan) to collect a small amount of lunar regolith and transfer ownership in place to NASA for $5,000 (10% on award, 10% on launch, 80% on completion). The collection attempt under this contract was covered by Japanese permits for Mission 1 (lander lost 26 April 2023) and Mission 2 (lander lost 6 June 2025); no transfer has occurred as far as primary sources show.
Sources (7) and evidence gaps
NASA has selected four companies to collect space resources and transfer ownership to the agency: Lunar Outpost of Golden, Colorado; Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California; ispace Europe of Luxembourg; and ispace Japan of Tokyo.
ispace Japan proposed collection for $5,000 following arrival in 2022 of a lander to Lacus Somniorum on the Moon's northeastern near side.
Companies will receive 10% of their total proposed price upon award, will receive 10% upon launch, and the remaining 80% upon successful completion.
Subsequent to receiving such imagery and data, an "in-place" transfer of ownership of the lunar regolith to NASA will take place.
The license allows ispace to complete a contract awarded by NASA in December 2020, to acquire regolith from the lunar surface and transfer ownership to the space agency.
Although the lander did not complete a soft landing
it is currently assumed that the lander likely performed a hard landing on the lunar surface
- Current status of the contract after the Mission 2 loss (open, modified, or terminated) is not stated in any retrieved NASA or ispace source.
- 2020-06-11
NASA CLPS task order for Astrobotic to deliver VIPER ($199.5 million)
NASA awarded Astrobotic $199.5 million to deliver the VIPER water-ice prospecting rover to the lunar south pole on its Griffin lander; NASA cancelled VIPER in July 2024 and Griffin Mission One continued without it.
Sources (2) and evidence gaps
NASA has awarded Astrobotic of Pittsburgh $199.5 million to deliver NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) to the Moon's South Pole in late 2023.
Astrobotic will continue its Griffin Mission One within its contract with NASA, working toward a launch scheduled for no earlier than fall 2025. The landing without VIPER will provide a flight demonstration of the Griffin lander and its engines.
- Whether the task-order value was modified after VIPER's removal is not stated.
- 2020-04-08
NASA CLPS task order to Masten Space Systems for south-pole delivery (USD 75.9 million)
NASA awarded Masten a USD 75.9 million CLPS task order to deliver eight payloads (nine instruments), several resource-related, to the lunar south pole; NASA OIG later reported the value grew to USD 81.3 million and the task order was terminated.
Sources (3)
The $75.9 million award includes end-to-end services for delivery of the instruments
Further, two task orders were terminated, one of which had already been paid $66.1 million of the $81.3 million task order value based on milestones performed.
As a result of this bankruptcy, NASA lost the $66 million in milestone payments made to Masten and is in the process of settling recoveries.
- 2020
NASA SBIR Phase II award to Pioneer Astronautics for MMOST
SBIR.gov lists NASA SBIR Phase II contract 80NSSC20C0250 to Pioneer Astronautics for Moon to Mars Oxygen and Steel Technology, with a total award amount of $3,999,973 and Award Year 2020. The record schedules performance from 15 September 2020 to 15 September 2022 and proposes lunar-regolith simulant work and an integrated vacuum-chamber demonstration; those dates and proposed outcomes do not establish completion.
Sources (6) and evidence gaps
Awardee PIONEER ASTRONAUTICS
Award Year: 2020
SBIR Phase II Awarding Agency NASA Total Award Amount: $3,999,973 Contract Number: 80NSSC20C0250
September 15, 2020 Award Start Date September 15, 2022 Award End Date
The MMOST employs physical particle size sorting, electromagnetic regolith beneficiation, materials handling, hydrogen reduction, electrolysis, and melt-refining to produce metallic iron and oxygen products with minimized power requirements.
Mines will use additive manufacturing methods to fabricate test articles from metal generated from reduced lunar regolith simulant.
- No exact award decision date is established; the record's performance start date is kept only as a schedule in the summary.
- The total award amount is not a verified payment, obligation or company-financing amount; it is not added to other awards as a financing total.
- No completed integrated test, achieved production rate, achieved TRL 6 or delivered hardware is established by this proposal abstract.
- 2019-07-01
NASA selects Honeybee's PlanetVac for a CLPS flight
NASA selected PlanetVac (principal investigator Kris Zacny, Honeybee Robotics), a technology to acquire and transfer lunar regolith, among 12 lunar science and technology investigations for CLPS flights; it later flew as Lunar PlanetVac on Blue Ghost Mission 1.
Sources (2)
PlanetVac is a technology for acquiring and transferring lunar regolith from the surface to other instruments that would analyze the material, or put it in a container that another spacecraft could return to Earth. The principal investigator is Kris Zacny of Honeybee Robotics
Lunar PlanetVac (LPV) was deployed on Blue Ghost’s surface access arm and successfully collected, transferred, and sorted lunar soil
- 2019-06-11
NASA NIAC Phase III selection for TransAstra Mini Bee
NASA selected TransAstra's Mini Bee optical-mining flight-demonstration concept as one of two inaugural NIAC Phase III studies, each eligible for up to $2 million over two years.
Sources (2) and evidence gaps
Mini Bee Prototype to Demonstrate the Apis Mission Architecture and Optical Mining Technology
Each selection will receive as much as $2 million.
- Amount is a ceiling ('as much as'), not a confirmed obligated value.
- 2018-11-29
Moon Express selected for NASA CLPS vendor pool
NASA named Moon Express one of nine companies eligible to bid on Commercial Lunar Payload Services task orders.
Sources (1) and evidence gaps
Nine U.S. companies now are eligible to bid on NASA delivery services to the lunar surface
- Absence of any Moon Express task order is inferred from the NASA OIG list of task orders (IG-24-013), not from an explicit statement.
Open evidence gaps
- No NASA ISRU budget figure was found in the sources reviewed for this record.
- NASA's 2020 lunar regolith purchase awards are not sourced on this organization record.
Sources
3 excerpts from 3 publicationsOne web address counts as one publication.
The eventual goal is to advance ISRU system-level technology readiness to provide human mission commodities such as propellant, fuel cell reactants, and life support consumables.
- [2]About NASA
When NASA opened for business on October 1, 1958
The Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC), funded by NASA STMD, brings together government, academia, non-profit institutions, and the private sector
Cite this record
SpaceMiningData, “National Aeronautics and Space Administration”, dataset version a00fa2c68a45, built 2026-11-11, https://spaceminingdata.com/organizations/nasa.html. Record checked 2026-09-25.