{"id":17743,"date":"2020-04-08T19:58:37","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T11:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-picks-masten-space-systems-to-deliver-science-to-the-moons-south-pole\/"},"modified":"2020-04-08T19:58:37","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T11:58:37","slug":"nasa-picks-masten-space-systems-to-deliver-science-to-the-moons-south-pole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-picks-masten-space-systems-to-deliver-science-to-the-moons-south-pole\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA picks Masten Space Systems to deliver science to the moon\u2019s south pole"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"XL-1
An artist\u2019s conception shows Masten Space Systems\u2019 XL-1 lander on the moon. (Masten Space Systems Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA has selected California-based Masten Space Systems to deliver eight science payloads to the moon\u2019s south pole in 2022 on its XL-1 lunar lander.<\/p>\n

Seattle-based Olis Robotics has a role in getting one of those payloads, a robotic arm, ready to fly.<\/p>\n

The $75.9 million contract was awarded to Masten under the terms of NASA\u2019s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, or CLPS \u2014 which provides opportunities for the space agency to order lunar delivery services from commercial providers, in a way that\u2019s similar to ordering a rideshare trip on earthly streets. In 2018, Masten was one of the first delivery providers that NASA put on its CLPS list.<\/p>\n

Masten hasn\u2019t yet flown anything in space, but it\u2019s been working on its lander technology for more than a decade in partnership with NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Pentagon\u2019s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Air Force Research Laboratory, among others. Back in 2009, Masten won more than a million dollars in the NASA-funded Lunar Lander Challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cMasten is thrilled to have NASA as our anchor customer on this mission,\u201d Masten Space Systems CEO Sean Mahoney said in a news release. \u201cAs we, like the rest of the world, work to keep our employees and families safe in these trying times, we\u2019re glad to see America\u2019s return to the moon and space commerce moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

More customers are being sought to add hundreds of pounds\u2019 worth of payloads to the manifest for the mission in late 2022.<\/p>\n

CLPS payloads are meant to blaze a trail for crewed missions to the moon by as early as 2024, under the umbrella of NASA\u2019s Artemis program.<\/p>\n