Nasa delar ut kontrakt för månbilar till sydpolen samtidigt som storskaliga basplaner skalas ned

Nasa har delat ut kontrakt värda närmare 720 miljoner dollar för två månbilar på ett ton vardera samt leverans via Blue Origins landare, vilket signalerar ett snävare fokus än tidigare koncept om fullskaliga baser.

Myndigheten har valt ut Astrolab (219 miljoner dollar för CLV-1) och Lunar Outpost (220 miljoner dollar för Pegasus) för att bygga autonoma månbilar med en räckvidd på 200 kilometer. Blue Origin fick 280,4 miljoner dollar för att leverera dem med sin Blue Moon Mark 1-landare. Nasas administratör Jared Isaacman uppgav att tilldelningarna upprätthåller tempot för en bemannad återkomst tidigast 2028. Kontrakten ramas nu in som ett stöd för en växande månekonomi snarare än den tidigare diskuterade storskaliga mån-basen.

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