NASA Eyes New Lunar Orbiter and More CLPS Task Orders

NASA plans to award three additional CLPS task orders this year, including an orbiter imaging mission to replace the aging Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and two landers. The agency is moving toward CLPS 2.0, a potential $10 billion, 10-year contract, with proposals due later this year and a push for larger, faster production of landers. Both Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines are expanding facilities and exploring multi-ton and modular lander designs to support future lunar-base needs, while the CS-8 mission aims to demonstrate a repeatable, production-line lander capable of faster delivery to the Moon.