NASA Picks Eight Firms for $10 Billion Lunar Contracts
Companies including SpaceX, Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin Space will compete to deliver equipment and infrastructure to the moon.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Space
NASA announced on November 7 that it selected eight companies to compete for contracts worth up to $10 billion to transport equipment and infrastructure to the moon. The awards are part of the agency's goal of building a permanent lunar outpost.
Why it matters
Getting equipment and supplies to the moon is a central obstacle to a permanent lunar presence, which is why NASA is enlisting outside companies. The selected firms will be eligible to compete for lunar delivery missions over the next decade.
NASA awarded Blue Origin, Impulse Space and Arrow Science and Technology a combined $1.3 billion for separate mission tasks, within contracts worth up to $10 billion across eight companies. How the total will be split among the selected firms has not been disclosed.
The players
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the U.S. federal agency responsible for civil space exploration and research.
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is a private American rocket and spacecraft company founded by Elon Musk.
Blue Origin
Blue Origin is an aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos that develops reusable launch vehicles and lunar landers.
Lockheed Martin Space
Lockheed Martin Space is the space division of Lockheed Martin, a major American aerospace and defense contractor.
The details
The selected companies will build and operate landers to carry scientific instruments, technology and infrastructure to the lunar surface under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. NASA also picked SpaceX to launch communications test satellites aboard a Starship in 2028, and awarded Honeybee Robotics work on power generation and wireless power transfer for a planned Mini-Communications and Solar Tower.
Timeline
November 7, 2026: NASA announces selection of eight companies for up to $10 billion in contracts.
2028: SpaceX plans to launch communications test satellites aboard Starship.
2029: NASA begins robotic exploration of the Moon's south pole to identify infrastructure sites.
2029-2032: NASA plans to build power systems, cargo transportation and communications networks on the Moon.
After 2032: NASA focuses on making the lunar outpost livable for astronauts.
The Big Picture
The awards extend NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which uses private firms to deliver payloads to the Moon rather than relying solely on agency-built hardware. Shifting the delivery work to commercial contractors is the model the agency is now scaling toward a permanent lunar outpost.
The contracts put a set of publicly traded and private firms in line for lunar delivery work over the next decade, which affects which companies could later be hired for missions. Readers following space stocks or the aerospace sector can track which of the eight awardees win follow-on task orders.
The takeaway
Commercial firms are becoming central to NASA's Moon plans, and the next task orders will show how the $10 billion is actually distributed. Watch the 2028 Starship test and the 2029 south pole exploration for signs of whether the outpost timeline holds.
What happens next
NASA plans robotic exploration of the Moon's south pole in 2029 and lunar power, cargo and communications buildout between 2029 and 2032. SpaceX's Starship test satellite launch is planned for 2028.
Further reading
Explore more in Space, where NASA's lunar plans and commercial partnerships are tracked.
