NASA Looking for Rides to the Moon

摘要

With an upcoming solicitation for commercial flight services to the lunar surface, NASA is kicking off a return to the Moon, with instruments and payloads possibly ready to fly as early as next year.NASA is preparing for a mid-July solicitation for contractors to support its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which is designed to provide the agency with multiple, 10-year indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity (IDIQ) agreements worth from $25,000 to $2.6 billion apiece. "This is part of an agenda to go to the Moon-fast," says Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's newly named associate administrator for science. "We can actually go to the Moon within the next year or two with payloads, followed by mid-size landers that will evolve to human capability and several other elements."