NASA on Tuesday awarded Blue Origin a $188 million contract to support lunar rover deliveries and selected Astrolab for a $219 million award to develop lunar terrain vehicles, as the agency outlined new Moon Base milestones aimed at establishing a sustained presence at the Moon's south pole.

Astrolab and Lunar Outpost will build crewed and autonomous lunar rovers targeted for deployment by 2028, while Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander will support early Moon Base payload missions beginning in 2026.

NASA also said its MoonFall mission, targeted for 2028, will deploy four drones to survey difficult lunar terrain near the south pole for future Artemis astronaut landings. Firefly Aerospace will build the spacecraft transporting the drones.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the Moon Base initiative will help build infrastructure for long-term lunar operations while preparing for future human missions to Mars.