Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)
Task-order program enabling private companies to deliver NASA science payloads to the lunar surface. Created a commercial lunar lander industry from scratch. Intuitive Machines achieved first US lunar landing since Apollo (IM-1, Feb 2024). Firefly completed first fully successful commercial soft landing (Blue Ghost M1, March 2025). Multiple missions per year now planned.
Budget
$2.6B cumulative maximum (indefinite-delivery contracts through 2028)
Timeline
2018–2028+
Key Milestones
Astrobotic Peregrine — launch successful but propellant leak prevented Moon landing
2024 — Jan
IM-1 Odysseus — first US lunar landing in 50+ years (tipped on landing)
2024 — Feb
Firefly Blue Ghost M1 launched on Falcon 9
2025 — Jan
Blue Ghost M1 soft-landed, operated 14 days — first fully successful commercial Moon landing
2025 — Mar
IM-2 landed at lunar south pole (sideways) — PRIME-1 ice drill deployed
2025 — Mar
IM-3 — multiple NASA payloads to Moon
2026
Firefly Blue Ghost M2 — far side of Moon with ESA Lunar Pathfinder
2026
Intuitive Machines awarded 5th CLPS task order ($180.4M) for Nova-D large lander
2026
Contractors
Sources
- nasa.gov/commercial-lunar-payload-services
- spaceflightnow.com