The NASA administrator, along with other agency officials, announced the winners of the long-awaited Lunar Terrain Vehicle contract on May 26. Houston-based Intuitive Machines Inc. (Nasdaq: LUNR) was not among them, despite being one of the frontrunners to build a heavy-duty lunar rover that could be piloted by astronauts.
The agency awarded a $219 million contract to California-based Venturi Astrolab and a $220 million contract to Colorado-based Lunar Outpost for the first phase of LTVs. Astrolab’s Crewed Lunar Vehicle 1, or CLV-1, rover and Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus rover will be the models that are set to be deployed to the lunar surface by 2028. Isaacman also announced three “moon base” missions this year, including the IM-3 mission, which Intuitive Machines will fly.