Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)

The Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract is a NASA-managed procurement vehicle designed to enable commercial lunar payload delivery and surface exploration services. Under this contract, NASA engages private aerospace companies to provide end-to-end payload transportation between Earth and the lunar surface, including launch vehicles, lunar lander spacecraft, lunar surface systems, and associated resources. The primary objective is to support NASA's Headquarters' Science, Human Exploration and Operations, and Space Technology Mission Directorates by facilitating commercial lunar payload transportation and scientific investigations.

Task orders under this IDIQ consistently demonstrate NASA's strategy of leveraging commercial space companies to advance lunar exploration capabilities. Delivery orders range from small $25,000 studies to substantial contracts exceeding $300 million, with typical values between $50-200 million and performance periods of 2-5 years. Frequently awarded prime contractors include Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, Astrobotic Technology, Blue Origin, and Draper, all located in states with significant aerospace infrastructure such as Texas, California, and Pennsylvania. These task orders predominantly support payload delivery, surface mobility research, technology demonstrations, and specific mission objectives like the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) and lunar ice-mining experiments. All task orders to date have been firm-fixed-price contracts with no specific small business set-aside designations, funded primarily through NASA's Johnson Space Center.