Spacebit is developing micro-rover technologies and rover deployment systems to be able to carry scientific payloads in support of the Artemis Program space exploration and research goals. The UK-based company is the only commercial company to secure two consecutive NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) delivery missions to the Moon. Spacebit is one of the first commercial lunar companies that plans to fly on every NASA CLPS delivery on the market.
Intuitive Machines was awarded a NASA CLPS contract in 2019 and revealed details earlier this year for its first lunar landing in support of NASA’s Artemis program. The Houston-based company will launch its Nova-C lander in October 2021 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The target landing site is Vallis Schröteri (Schröter’s Valley) in the Moon’s Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms). The company said the site is “flat, free of craters and rocks, and has abundant sunlight” throughout the 14-day mission.
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