NASA Taps Bezos’ Blue Origin, Firefly for Moon Base Contracts

BLOOMBERG - NASA picked Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace and other space firms to send robotic landers, rovers and even drones to the moon as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to jumpstart a lunar base before the end of the decade.

The US space agency awarded Lunar Outpost and Astrolab contracts worth $220 million each for building rovers that can both travel autonomously on the moon and that future astronauts could navigate across the lunar terrain.

The agency also announced that Blue Origin will be tasked with delivering these rovers to the moon’s surface using the aerospace firm’s uncrewed cargo moon lander, called Mark 1. Each landing and delivery of a rover is worth $234 million each for Blue Origin, NASA said.

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Note:  Blue Origin is headquartered in Kent.

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