NASA has selected four U.S. small businesses to mature a range of technologies for sustainable exploration of the Moon under the Artemis program. Through Artemis, the first woman and next man will land on the Moon in 2024. Later in the decade, NASA and its partners will establish a sustainable presence on the Moon.
By awarding the companies with follow-on funds — an expected combined value of approximately $17 million — NASA’s small business program will accelerate the development of lunar technologies relevant to Artemis. The companies started maturing the technologies, and demonstrated their potential, under previous contracts from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program.
“Small businesses are integral to the development of space technology. With this new lunar sequential funding opportunity, they will advance in-situ resource utilization, laser communications, and other high-impact technologies for use on the Moon,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington. “Each business has a track record of success with NASA, and we believe their technologies will have a direct impact on the Artemis program.”
The selections and forthcoming awards are part of the NASA SBIR program’s post-Phase II funding initiatives. They are designed to support small businesses past the standard Phase I and Phase II funding and promote transition for both infusion into NASA missions and commercialization into the aerospace industry and beyond. Individual awards are expected to be between $2.5 million and $5 million.
