This isn't your ordinary delivery service such as UPS, Federal Express and USPS, not quite. NASA needed a provider to make deliveries to the Moon, and has signed Astrobotic and their Peregrine Lunar Lander to be NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) for 10-years.
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander (pictured here) will carry payloads to the Moon for NASA through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
Under the CLPS program, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander is poised to serve as America’s workhorse robotic lander, delivering up to 265 kilograms of payload on each mission. With Peregrine’s robust delivery capacity, the lunar surface is open to NASA and the commercial market for resource prospecting, planetary science investigations, technology maturation, and other activities. Robotic CLPS payload deliveries on Peregrine will be a vital bridge to a future human return to the Moon, and an important capability in NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration campaign. By working in concert with NASA’s Gateway, Orion, and Space Launch System, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander will help enable a dynamic public-private future on the Moon.
As part of NASA’s plan to return to the Moon, CLPS is leveraging existing private sector services such as Astrobotic to deliver their cargo shipments to the Moon. CLPS will enable the first NASA payloads to be soft-landed on the lunar surface since the Apollo Program, and open a new era in science and exploration with regular commercial deliveries of uncrewed payload to the lunar surface.
Astrobotic CEO John Thornton stated that they are humbled by this selection to return America to the Moon. Astrobotic has steadily developed their lunar delivery service with a methodical, technically sound lander program validated by world-class company partners like ULA, Dynetics, and Airbus DS. Their focus on delivering for the payload market has enabled Astrobotic's world-leading position with 12-signed deals to date. It is gratifying to now receive this validation from the most accomplished space agency in the world. They are eager to add NASA to their existing manifest of commercial customers, and get America back on the surface as soon as possible.
This is a pivotal moment for their company and most importantly, this country. Astrobotic was built for this opportunity, and they stand ready to lead America back to the Moon.
