NASA awards Intuitive Machines $180.4 million lunar payload contract

March 24 (Reuters) - ‌Intuitive Machines ​said ​on Tuesday NASA has awarded the space startup a $180.4 ‌million contract to deliver seven science ⁠and technology payloads to the moon's south ‌pole.

As part of NASA's ‌Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative under the agency's Artemis moon program, ​the contract includes the deliveries of an Australian Space Agency lunar ⁠rover and technologies developed by Honeybee Robotics, a ​unit of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.

This marks Intuitive Machines' fifth CLPS ​delivery mission, which ‌is expected to target Mons Malapert, a ridge near the ⁠lunar south pole seen as strategically important for future human and robotic ⁠exploration, the company said.

Earlier today, the U.S. space ​agency chief Jared Isaacman announced an array of changes to the Artemis program including ‌an aim to send more robotic landers to the ‌moon and lay the groundwork for ⁠using nuclear power ‌on the ​lunar surface.

(Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan ‌Barona)

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