23 August 2021
Last December, Lunar Outpost was awarded the first-ever contract for the collection and commercialization of materials from the lunar surface. Today, at approximately 3:30 PM, over a year ahead of schedule, NASA administrator Bill Nelson presented a check for $0.10 to Lunar Outpost CEO, Justin Cyrus, for the successful completion of the Concept Review for that contract.
This is a monumental milestone in the collaborative process between Lunar Outpost and NASA to develop legal and procedural frameworks that will serve as a point of reference for all future space resources contracts. In addition to having immense precedence-setting impact, this transaction also serves as proof that the sale of space resources is a viable economic incentive for the commercial space industry.
Although the dollar amount of this contract is small, NASA’s drive to preemptively lay the groundwork for sustainable acquisition and sale of space resources ahead of an inevitable “gold rush” is indicative of the real commercial opportunity in space.
As part of this contract, Lunar Outpost will collect regolith from a region near the lunar South Pole using a wheel-mounted hopper onboard its MAPP rover. The collection will take place during Lunar Outpost’s Q4 2022 mission with Nokia and Intuitive Machines, in which MAPP will carry a 4G/LTE payload to begin development of a communication infrastructure for the lunar surface.
With secondary payload space available, this mission is an ideal opportunity for research on this fascinating sector of the Moon. If you are interested in working with Lunar Outpost as a surface mobility provider for your payload, contact our sales team today.