[meteorite-list] NASA Selects Partners for U.S. Commercial Lander Capabilities

[Ron Baalke]

April 30, 2014
     
NASA Selects Partners for U.S. Commercial Lander Capabilities

NASA announced Wednesday the selection of three U.S. companies to negotiate 
no-funds exchanged partnership agreements with the agency to advance lander 
capabilities that will enable delivery of payloads to the surface of the 
moon, as well as new science and exploration missions of interest to NASA and 
scientific and academic communities.

The selected companies are:

-- Astrobotic Technology, Inc., Pittsburgh
-- Masten Space System, Inc., Mojave, Calif.
-- Moon Express, Inc., Moffett Field, Calif.

NASA made the selections following a January solicitation for proposals. The 
agency now will negotiate no-funds exchanged Space Act Agreements with the 
companies as part of the agency's Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by 
Soft Touchdown (Lunar CATALYST) initiative. NASA's contributions for an 
estimated three-year period may include technical expertise, access to agency 
test facilities, equipment loans and/or software for lander development and 
testing.

"NASA is making advances to push the boundaries of human exploration farther 
into the solar system, including to an asteroid and Mars, and continues to 
spur development in the commercial space sector," said Jason Crusan, director 
of the Advanced Exploration Systems Division at NASA Headquarters in 
Washington. "Robotic missions to the moon have revealed the existence of 
local resources, including oxygen and water, which may be highly valuable for 
exploration of the solar system. The potential to use the lunar surface in 
partnership with our international and commercial partners may allow these 
resources to be characterized and used to enable future exploration and 
pioneering."

Commercial lunar transportation capabilities could support science and 
exploration objectives such as sample returns, geophysical network 
deployment, resource prospecting, and technology advancements.

The Advanced Exploration Systems Division of NASA's Human Exploration and 
Operations Mission Directorate manages Lunar CATALYST. Advanced Exploration 
Systems pioneers new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, 
demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future 
human missions beyond Earth orbit.

As NASA works with U.S. industry to develop the next generation of U.S. 
spaceflight services, the agency also is developing the Orion spacecraft and 
Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket to provide an 
entirely new capability for human exploration. Designed for launching 
spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS and Orion will expand human 
presence beyond low-Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration across 
the solar system, including to a near-Earth asteroid and Mars.

For more information about the Lunar CATALYST initiative, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/lunarcatalyst 

-end-

Rachel Kraft
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
rachel.h.kraft at nasa.gov