The Commercial Lunar Payload Services Initiative

NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative is intended to enable rapid, frequent, and affordable access to the lunar surface by helping to establish a viable commercial lunar landing services sector. As a stated goal, the CLPS initiative seeks to maintain a cadence of two delivery awards per year through the first six years of the contract. Since money cannot be paid on the contract after the 10-year lifetime expires, awarded task orders must complete before the expiration of the master contract. A total of 12 task orders (TOs) have been awarded with three more expected before the end of 2025. Each of the task orders are awarded using a competitive process amongst a pool of 14 eligible companies. The TOs will result in lunar landings at sites widely distributed across the surface of the Moon, including the south polar region and the farside. In conjunction with instrument development efforts within NASA, academia, international partners, and commercial industry, a considerable variety of science and technology payloads have been delivered to CLPS vendors or are in the process of development. The CLPS initiative involves over 51 different payloads across the world, stimulating space workforce development and investment in the space economy infrastructure.