The award will include both an uncrewed demonstration landing and a crewed landing, much like SpaceX’s HLS Option A contract.
Artemis programme
Under the terms of its agreement with Rocket Lab, AuroraSat will send the 1.5U CubeSat on an Electron rocket carrying other satellites.
The two companies collaborated to pitch a conceptual Lunar Terrain Vehicle to NASA’s Artemis programme.
SpaceX was one of three companies that received initial HLS contracts nearly one year ago for early design work on their lander concepts.
The station, weighing about 40 metric tons, will be automatically assembled piece by piece in a near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the moon.
