"New Era of Moon Missions: NASA Hands Over Control as Private Spacecraft Prepares for Historic Landing"

NASA is handing over control of moon missions to private companies, with the first mission, Peregrine Mission 1, set to launch on Christmas Eve. Under NASA's commercial lunar payload services initiative, private companies will design spacecraft and deliver cargo to the moon's surface. However, this new era of moon missions has raised concerns among scientists who have plans for scientific research on the moon, such as radio telescopes and infrared telescopes. There is a lack of coordination and regulations to ensure that different activities on the moon do not interfere with each other. Scientists are calling for the designation of special scientific interest sites and the involvement of international bodies to address conflicting activities on the moon.