"NASA Showcases Historic Moon Delivery by Commercial Service"

NASA is partnering with private American companies through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative to establish the first-ever commercial delivery service to the moon. The deliveries, starting in 2023, will include science experiments, technology tests, and capabilities demonstrations to support NASA's exploration and preparation for human missions. Scheduled deliveries include Astrobotic sending NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) to the lunar South Pole in 2022 and Draper sending science investigations to the far side of the moon in 2025. This initiative aims to significantly increase the amount of science that can be achieved on the lunar surface and could pave the way for similar services to other destinations, such as Mars.