Summary of the Contracted Deliveries of NASA Payloads to the Moon Via Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative allows rapid acquisition of lunar delivery services from US companies for payloads that advance capabilities for scientific, technological, or commercial development of the Moon. In conjunction with instrument development efforts within NASA, academia, international partners, and commercial industry, a considerable variety of pay-loads have been delivered to CLPS vendors or are in the process of development. A total of 11 task orders (TOs) have been awarded with at least 2 new TOs expected to be awarded in 2025 via a competitive process among a pool of 14 companies that will result in lunar landings at sites widely distributed across the surface of the Moon, including the south polar region and the farside. Individual task order awards cover end-to-end commercial payload delivery services, including payload integration, launch from Earth, landing on the surface of the Moon and mission operations. Many CLPS landers will carry a laser retroreflector array payload (some passive, others active) to create a suite of fiducial markers on the lunar surface. In addition to delivering the NASA payloads, the CLPS vendors are carrying additional commercial pay-loads that are operated independently from the NASA payload suites. A successful landing of the first CLPS lander will help prove out the CLPS model for commercial payload deliveries to the lunar surface.