NASA on Saturday named eight companies to compete for a new 10-year Commercial Lunar Payload Services framework, CLPS 2, with a combined maximum value of $10 billion, as the agency expands robotic cargo and infrastructure work for a planned Moon Base near the lunar south pole^1,2.

The announcements were made at a Kennedy Space Center air show event, Space.com and WESH reported, drawing on NASA's Moon Base campaign^1,2.

The $10 billion figure is a contract ceiling, not an immediate award of missions, Space.com reported¹. NASA also raised the existing CLPS contract ceiling from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion^1,2. WESH said the original CLPS contract remains in place through November 2028, with additional time to complete deliveries through November 2033².

The companies selected to compete for CLPS 2 surface deliveries are Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, ispace-U.S., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, SpaceX and Voyager Technologies^1,2.

Administrator Jared Isaacman said the older CLPS structure was all-or-nothing and that the agency wanted more flexibility as it scales missions, according to Space.com¹. WESH quoted him saying astronauts returning to the moon should find early Moon Base elements already on the surface².

NASA is proceeding with PROMISE, a nuclear-powered Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration, intended to study the south pole and look for ice and other resources^1,2. Space.com said operations are planned to begin in late 2028¹. WESH said Jet Propulsion Laboratory will build the six-wheeled rover from spare Curiosity and Perseverance hardware, with a late-2028 launch target for an 18-month mission, including a drill about 1 meter deep².

Blue Origin received a $94 million base contract, plus a $140 million performance option, to deliver PROMISE on its Blue Moon Mark 1 lander^1,2.

NASA also awarded six Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare task orders totaling about $1.3 billion to Arrow Science and Technology, Blue Origin and Impulse Space, covering navigation tests, MoonFall drone scouting and orbital cargo transfer demonstrations^1,2. Launches may use Blue Origin's New Glenn, SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Relativity Space's Terran R, Space.com reported¹.

Separately, NASA selected SpaceX under a lunar logistics contract to launch communications satellites on Starship to cislunar space in 2028^1,2. Awards for miniCAST power and communications tower components went to Honeybee Robotics, Redwire and Yank Technologies, WESH reported, with a solicitation for integrated power systems expected in early 2027².

NASA has described Phase One Moon Base work through 2029 as robotic exploration and commercial deliveries, with later phases aimed at standing up a base by about 2032, Space.com reported¹. Independent confirmation of schedule and funding beyond the announced ceilings was not in the two reports^1,2.