NASA Distributes $150 Million to 11 US Organizations Supporting Human Explorations on the Moon

NASA is giving away millions to various organizations that support the Artemis mission. Eleven prototype techs will share the budget to develop technology and infrastructure for the upcoming moon exploration.

NASA Awards $150 Million to 11 Prototype Techs

To enable people to live, work, and communicate with Earth from hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, NASA must create a self-sustaining ecosystem. The space agency is distributing $150 million to 11 U.S. organizations as part of the "Tipping Point" opportunity, per The Registry.

The 11 fortunate companies include the following:

Blue Origin ($35 Million)

Blue Origin received a $35 million Tipping Point partnership from NASA to continue its work on the Blue Alchemist innovation. Blue Alchemist is an end-to-end, scalable, autonomous, and commercial technology that creates solar cells from lunar regolith, the Moon's plentiful dust, and pulverized rock.

The breakthrough, which is based on a procedure known as molten regolith electrolysis, would establish infinite electricity and power transmission cables anywhere on the Moon's surface. As a beneficial byproduct for propulsion and life support, the mechanism also produces oxygen.

Astrobotic Technology ($34.6 Million)

For the purpose of showing electricity transmission on the lunar surface, the business was awarded a $34.6 million NASA Tipping Point agreement. The prize will lead to the LunaGrid-Lite experiment, sending power from a lunar lander to a tethered rover.

The 20-meter-tall Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT), which is now being developed by Astrobotic under another NASA contract, could be used as part of the complete LunaGrid system, which will be a power generation and distribution service. The lander's solar arrays will serve as the VSAT in the LunaGrid-Lite demo's power generation.

The Moon's power generation and delivery will be made possible by LunaGrid-Lite, which will also revolutionize lunar surface systems, including rovers, shelters, science suits, and in-situ resource utilization pilot plants. Both crewed and robotic operations can be made sustainable for long-term operations with renewable, uninterruptible commercial power service, according to John Thornton, Astrobotic CEO.

The other agencies are as follows:

United Launch Alliance ($25 Million)
Zeno Power Systems ($15 Million)
Redwire ($12.9 Million)
Lockheed Martin ($9.1 Million)
Protoinnovations ($6.2 Million)
Big Metal Additive ($5.4 Million)
Psionic ($3.2 million)
Varda Space Industries ($1.9 Million)
Freedom Photonics ($1.6 Million)

ALSO READ: Jeremy Hansen of Artemis 2 Is Optimistic Canadian Astronaut Will Walk on the Moon, Go to Mars

What Is The Artemis Mission?

NASA will return to the Moon for scientific advancements, financial gains and to motivate new explorers through its Artemis Mission. The U.S. space agency is pushing with the mission in cooperation with international and commercial partners. Its next goal is to send the first astronauts to Mars, using everything they have learned from the moon exploration.

Artemis II is the first crewed mission and the second scheduled mission of NASA's Orion spacecraft. It is set to launch by the Space Launch System in November 2024.

The crew includes four astronauts - commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialists Christina Hammock Koch and Jeremy Hansen. The mission will be historic as it will be the first time a woman will walk on the Moon's surface.