Commercial Lunar Payload Services


Commercial Lunar Payload Services is a NASA program to contract transportation services able to send small robotic landers and rovers to the Moon's south polar region mostly with the goals of scouting for lunar resources, testing in situ resource utilization concepts, and performing lunar science to support the Artemis lunar program. CLPS is intended to buy end-to-end payload services between Earth and the lunar surface using fixed priced contracts.
The CLPS program is being operated by NASA Headquarter's Science Mission Directorate, in-conjunction with the Human Exploration and Operations and Science Technology Mission Directorates. NASA expects the contractors to provide all activities necessary to safely integrate, accommodate, transport, and operate NASA payloads, including launch vehicles, lunar lander spacecraft, lunar surface systems, Earth re-entry vehicles and associated resources. Flight opportunities are scheduled to start in mid 2020.

History

NASA has been planning the exploration and use of natural lunar resources for many years. A variety of exploration, science, and technology objectives that could be addressed by regularly sending instruments, experiments and other small payloads to the Moon have been identified by NASA.
When the concept study on the Resource Prospector rover was cancelled in April 2018, NASA officials explained that lunar surface exploration will continue in the future, but using commercial lander services under a new CLPS program. Later that April, NASA launched the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program as the first step in the solicitation for flights to the Moon. In April 2018, CLPS issued a Draft Request for Proposal, and in September 2018 the actual CLPS Request for Proposal was issued. The text of the formal solicitation and selected contractors are here:
On 29 November 2018, NASA announced the first nine companies that will be allowed to bid on contracts, which are indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts with a combined maximum contract value of $2.6 billion during the next 10 years. The first formal solicitation is expected sometime in 2019.
In February 2018 NASA issued a solicitation for Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payloads that may become CLPS customers. Proposals were due by November 2018 and January 17, 2019. NASA plans to make yearly calls for proposals.
On May 31, 2019, NASA announced a list of awards, featuring Astrobotic, of Pittsburgh, Pa., $79.5 million; Intuitive Machines, of Houston, Texas, $77 million; and OrbitBeyond, $97 million; to launch their Moon landers. However, Orbit Beyond dropped out of this contract in July 2019, but remains a contractor able to bid on future missions.
On 18 November 2019, NASA added five new contractors to the group of companies who are eligible to bid to send large payloads to the surface of the moon with to the CLPS program: Blue Origin, Ceres Robotics, Sierra Nevada Corporation, SpaceX, and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems.
On 8 April 2020, it was announced that NASA had awarded the fourth CLPS contract for Masten Space Systems. The contract, worth US$ 75.9 million, is for Masten's XL-1 lunar lander to deliver payloads from NASA and other customers to the south pole of the Moon in late 2022.

Overview

The competitive nature of the CLPS program is expected to reduce the cost of lunar exploration, accelerate a robotic return to the Moon, sample return, resource prospecting in the south polar region, and promote innovation and growth of related commercial industries. The payload development program is called Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation, and the payload goals are exploration, in situ resource utilization, and lunar science. The first instruments are expected to be selected by Summer 2019, and the flight opportunities start in 2021.
Multiple contracts will be issued, and the early payloads will likely be small because of the limited capacity of the initial commercial landers. The first landers and rovers will be technology demonstrators on hardware such as precision landing/hazard avoidance, power generation, in situ resource utilization, cryogenic fluid management, autonomous operations and sensing, and advanced avionics, mobility, mechanisms, and materials. This program requires that only US launch vehicles can launch the spacecraft. The mass of the landers and rovers can range from miniature to, with a lander targeted to launch in 2022.
The Draft Request for Proposal's covering letter states that the contracts will last up to 10 years. As NASA's need to send payloads to the lunar surface arises it will issue Firm-Fixed Price 'task orders' that the approved prime contractors can bid for. A Scope Of Work will be issued with each task order. The CLPS proposals are being evaluated against five Technical Accessibility Standards.
NASA is assuming a cost of one million dollars per kilogram delivered to the lunar surface.

Contractors

The companies selected are considered "main contractors" that can sub-contract projects to other companies of their choice. The first companies granted the right to bid on CLPS contracts were chosen in 2018.
On May 31, 2019, three of those were awarded lander contracts: Astrobotic Technology, Intuitive Machines, OrbitBeyond.
On July 29, 2019, NASA announced that it had granted OrbitBeyond's request to be released from this specific contract, citing "internal corporate challenges".
In April 2020, NASA selects Masten Space Systems to deliver cargo to the Moon in 2022.

List of contractors

The contractors selected for CLPS are:
Selection dateCompanyHeadquartersProposed servicesAwarded contract
29 November 2018Astrobotic TechnologyPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPeregrine lander
29 November 2018Deep Space SystemsLittleton, ColoradoRover; design and development services
29 November 2018Draper LaboratoryCambridge, MassachusettsArtemis-7 lander
29 November 2018Firefly AerospaceCedar Park, TexasFirefly Genesis lander based on Israel's Beresheet; Firefly Alpha and Beta launch vehicles.
29 November 2018Intuitive MachinesHouston, TexasNova-C lander
29 November 2018Lockheed Martin SpaceLittleton, ColoradoMcCandless Lunar Lander
29 November 2018Masten Space SystemsMojave, CaliforniaXL-1 lander
29 November 2018Moon ExpressCape Canaveral, FloridaMX-1, MX-2, MX-5, MX-9 landers; sample return.
29 November 2018OrbitBeyondEdison, New JerseyZ-01 and Z-02 landers
18 November 2019Blue OriginKent, WashingtonBlue Moon lander
18 November 2019Ceres RoboticsPalo Alto, California
18 November 2019Sierra Nevada CorporationLouisville, Colorado
18 November 2019SpaceXHawthorne, CaliforniaStarship
18 November 2019Tyvak Nano-Satellite SystemsIrvine, California

The first batch of science payloads are being developed in NASA facilities, due to the short time available before the first planned flights. Subsequent selections include payloads provided by universities and industry. Calls for payloads are planned to be released each year for additional opportunities.

First batch

The first twelve NASA payloads and experiments were announced on February 21, 2019, and will fly on separate missions. NASA hoped to assign the first mission in May 2019 before selecting specific payloads for that flight. This was realized May 31, 2019, when NASA released the list of the first companies to participate in the program.
On July 1, 2019, NASA announced the selection of twelve additional payloads, provided by universities and industry. Seven of these are scientific investigations while five are technology demonstrations
NameLaunchContractorLanderLaunch VehicleNotesOutcome
Peregrine Mission OneJune 2021Astrobotic TechnologyPeregrineVulcanAwarded in May 2019. Will carry 28 payloads, including 14 NASA payloads contracted under CLPS to Lacus Mortis on the Moon, landing is scheduled for June 2021.
Intuitive Machines Mission 1 October 2021Intuitive MachinesNova-CFalcon 9Awarded in May 2019. Will carry up to five NASA contracted payloads as well as payloads from other customers to Schroter's Valley on the Moon, the spacecraft will operate for up to 14 days after landing.
Masten Mission OneDecember 2022Masten SpaceXL-1TBAAwarded in April 2020. Intended to deliver several hundred kg of payloads to the Lunar south pole, more information is expected once the mission draws closer.
VIPERNET 2023Astrobotic TechnologyGriffinTBAFirst flight of Astrobotic's larger Griffin lander, Will deliver NASA's VIPER resource prospecting lunar rover to the Lunar south pole. Griffin is 450 kg, the award is for $199.5 M.

Orbit Beyond returned their task order two months after award.