Apart from the Artemis program, which aims to be the first crewed lunar landing in more than 55 years, NASA is currently working with several companies to deliver science and technology to the Moon's surface.
This initiative is known as the Commercial Lunar Payload Services or CLPS, for which NASA has a cumulative maximum contract value of $2.6 billion through 2028. The CLPS program allows the rapid development of Earth-Moon surface delivery services from private companies, who will be responsible for end-to-end operations, from payload integration to safely deploying the payload on lunar surface.
NASA started the CLPS program in November 2018, when nine vendors were added to the pool of contractors, followed by the addition of 5 more companies in the following year. Companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Astrobotics, and Sierra Nevada are among the vendors eligible to bid for the CLPS contracts.
On January 8, 2024, Astrobotic's Peregrine lander successfully kickstarted the beginning of the CLPS program, with 5 NASA payloads en route for a landing at Sinus Viscositatis on the Moon's surface. However, a propellant leak had rendered the landing impossible, sending the lander to reenter the Earth's atmosphere ten days later.
A month later, Intuitive Machines's Nova-C lander became the first private company to successfully soft-land on the lunar surface. Delivering 6 CLPS payloads to the Moon's Malapert A crater near its south pole. Paving ways for future missions to deliver more sciences and payloads to the lunar surface.
Three missions are planned for launch in 2024, beginning with Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander, the VIPER rover that will travel to the Moon with Astrobotic's lander, and the second mission from Intuitive Machines to demonstrate NASA's PRIME-1 drilling capabilities on the lunar surface.
Collaboration between government agencies like NASA and private companies is crucial to the sustainable exploration of the Moon. From supporting the development of technologies, personnel, and know-how for the lunar landing, the CLPS program will play a key role in making space more accessible to everyone.
Moreover, the CLPS program's science and technology could help lay a foundation for the long-term exploration of the Artemis program. The rapid development and competitive nature of the program could also benefit the space industry with a lower cost of delivery to the lunar surface, allowing more complex payloads to explore our only natural satellite in the future.
With many nations eyeing the Moon, along with fostering the collaboration between the government and the public sector, GISTDA, or Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency, has been continuously supporting and facilitating the Thai space companies to be ready for the new space economy, as well as being a strong foundation for the development of Thai space industry.
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