Artemis Program Advances With New Moon Base Hardware
NASA has announced the first phase of its future moon base program, awarding contracts to four US companies for lunar landers, rovers and drones. Blue Origin will deliver landers carrying moon buggies built by Astrolab and Lunar Outpost, while Firefly Aerospace will send drones to the lunar surface. The equipment is expected to arrive before astronauts return to the Moon under the Artemis program, with the first landing targeted for 2028. NASA says the long-term goal is a permanent lunar base supporting science, exploration and future Mars missions. 
