High-Volume Lunar Deliveries Backed by Sixth NASA CLPS Award
Contract Scales Nova-C Production for Moon Base Logistics and Commercial Payloads
NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines a firm-fixed-price contract valued at up to approximately $148.3 million to deliver a production-line-qualified Nova-C lander to the Moon under the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. The contract is the sixth CLPS task order awarded to the Houston-based company and is structured to qualify Nova-C as a serially produced lunar lander that can support a high-volume pipeline of payload deliveries for NASA’s Moon Base concept and commercial customers.
“This contract directly advances our core mission to provide a persistent, reliable, and commercial baseline of transport, connectivity, and operations.”
Steve Altemus, Intuitive Machines
Under the financial framework outlined in the news release, the award includes a base contract of about $68.6 million for mission execution using a Nova-C lander with proven lunar flight heritage, plus a performance incentive of roughly $79.7 million tied to successful demonstration of product-line qualification.
NASA selected Intuitive Machines to deliver a suite of science and technology payloads to the lunar surface no later than 2028, with the mission intended to reinforce an accelerated schedule of lunar surface deliveries and expand operational sites in support of the Artemis program’s Moon Base objectives. Company officials described the CLPS task order as a mechanism to scale Nova-C manufacturing from individual missions to repeatable infrastructure-as-a-service deliveries.
“This contract directly advances our core mission to provide a persistent, reliable, and commercial baseline of transport, connectivity, and operations that allows our customers to stay longer and achieve more on the Moon,” said Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus.
The mission, identified internally as part of a high-velocity lunar utility pipeline, is expected to use a standard Nova-C configuration that has already demonstrated lunar landing capability and data return, according to the company.
Intuitive Machines said the product-line qualification element of the contract is designed to guarantee a steady, rapid-turnaround supply of landers, positioning Nova-C as a baseline logistics platform for NASA and commercial customers needing repeat access to the lunar surface. The sixth CLPS task order builds on previous awards to the company, including a March 2026 contract valued at about $180.4 million for a larger Nova-D class lander to deliver seven science and technology payloads to the Moon’s south polar region.
NASA has characterized its CLPS initiative as a way to buy end-to-end payload delivery services from commercial providers, with task orders structured to cover everything from integration through landing and data transmission.
Altemus said the company views repeat CLPS awards as evidence that its lunar infrastructure and services model can support a growing mix of government and commercial missions. The newly announced mission is scheduled to land on the Moon no later than 2028, with additional CLPS opportunities expected as NASA and its partners move toward sustained lunar presence.