NASA decides which companies will purchase samples of lunar regolith

In September, NASA announced it would accept proposals for companies to take samples of the moon and sell the material to the space agency. Now, in a new publication, NASA reveals that it has selected and entered into agreements with the following companies: Masten Space System (from the US), ispace (both European and Japanese) and Lunar Outpost (from the USA). The contract provides for a total amount of U $ 25,001 – the sum includes the extraction, sale and use of these resources from our natural satellite.

Lunar Outpost proposed U $ 1 for the collection, followed by the arrival of a lander at the lunar south pole in 2023. The Japanese spaceman is expected to raise in 2022 for U $ 5,000, while the European space will do so for the same amount, but in the 2023. Finally, Masten Space Systems will perform the procedure for $ 15,000 in 2023 as well – the amounts are remarkably low because NASA is only paying for the material collected, so the companies’ development costs are not included in the calculation. It has not yet been decided how the samples will be collected or how the material will be brought to Earth.

According to the previously published statement, each of the lunar soil samples will weigh from 50g to 500g and the four companies will have to provide images and data of the material for evaluation. Only if the material is satisfactory will they receive the value. Furthermore, possession of the Moon material will be transferred to the space agency still on the lunar soil, and the idea is to collect the samples before 2024. “After the transfer, the collected material becomes the property of NASA for use in the within the Artemis program. “Officials said.

According to Mike Gold, NASA’s Associate Director of International Relations, this is an important step in the agency’s expansion of partnerships: “We are delighted to join our business and international partners to make Artemis the largest and most diverse coalition in the world. human exploration of space in history. ”He also stresses the importance of extracting these resources and acquiring them for a new dynamic of exploration on the Moon and, ultimately, on Mars.

This is because the Artemis program is the agency’s ambitious plan for manned lunar exploration, with the goal of landing the first woman and next man on the moon in 2024, as well as establishing a long-term, sustainable human presence. until the end. of the decade. Therefore, these new contracts further strengthen the Artemis program’s ties with international partners and the private sector – something necessary for the agency, which will depend on private landers to land its astronauts on the Moon in 2024 and other subsequent activities. . Furthermore, extracting and using resources from other worlds are ways to ensure that the program runs sustainable and safe activities.

Source: NASA