NASA barrels ahead with moon base plans, doling out nearly $600 million in new contracts

SpaceNASA barrels ahead with moon base plans, doling out nearly $600 million in new contractsThe announcement is the latest in a stream of funding contracts NASA has awarded private companies in its effort to establish a permanent presence on the moon.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman speaks to the media after the Artemis II crew arrives at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 27.Craig Bailey / USA Today Network via Reuters ConnectShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 30, 2026, 6:39 PM EDTBy Denise ChowA whole fleet of moon landers and rovers will arrive on the lunar surface at a rapid clip over the next few years if NASA can accomplish its ambitious vision. Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.The agency announced Tuesday that it has awarded yet another round of contracts to private space companies for upcoming moon missions, this time for lunar landers to carry science equipment to the moon’s surface in late 2028.The announcement is the latest in a stream of similar awards as NASA ramps up planned flights to the moon in preparation to build a base there. The collective goal of the various missions planned over the next two years is to test technologies and scope out locations to inform NASA’s lunar construction plans. Last month, it announced a set of funding awards totaling nearly $1 billion for the first uncrewed missions in its moon base program. In all, NASA plans to spend $20 billion on the project over the next seven years. The recent updates send a clear message: NASA is all in on establishing a permanent presence on the moon, and it intends to do so on a tight timeline, relying heavily on commercial partnerships.An artist's rendering of development of a conceptual moon base near the lunar south pole.NASA“These new awards to our commercial partners, totaling nearly $600 million to land more missions on the moon with scien...