NASA Awards SpaceX, Blue Origin, and 3 Other Companies $146 Million in Contracts to Go to the Moon

The space agency this Tuesday awarded 5 contracts to design the new lunar lander

A space suit is seen during a press conference displaying the next generation of space suits as parts of the Artemis program in Washington, on Oct. 15, 2019. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

By Entrepreneur en Español

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, announced this week the award of five contracts for $146 million to U.S. companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, to design lunar landers.

Artist concept of Artemis astronaut stepping onto the moon. (NASA)

As reported by Forbes, these private companies will work over the next 15 months on various projects for the development of the Artemis program to ensure the return of humanity to the moon in 2024.

To know more: Elon Musk accuses Jeff Bezos of hiring ‘pressure groups’ in process against NASA

Contracts are well distributed, according to the statement from NASA:

• SpaceX: $9.4 million
• Blue Origin: $25.6 million
• Dynetics: $40.8 million
• Lockheed Martin: $35.2 million
• Northrop Grumman: $34.8 million

The idea is that the five companies develop sustainable models of landing modules to regularly transport astronauts to the moon. Much of what is designed for Earth’s satellite will apply to future missions to Mars.

Learn More: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Employees Are Leaving The Company

Last April, NASA awarded SpaceX a contract for $2.89 billion to fly astronauts to the moon, a decision that has been questioned and debated by Blue Origin, who also competed for that contract.