Lunar CATALYST
Project Description
Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown (Lunar CATALYST) is a NASA initiative to encourage the development of U.S. private-sector robotic lunar landers capable of successfully delivering payloads to the lunar surface using U.S. commercial launch capabilities. In September 2014, NASA entered into no-funds-exchanged Space Act Agreement (SAA) partnerships with three competitively-selected companies (Astrobotic Technology, Masten Space Systems, and Moon Express), and is providing in-kind contributions including technical expertise, access to test facilities, software, and the loaning of equipment.
Although NASA is providing in-kind contributions, the landers are owned by the industry partners, and much of the technical design and development information is proprietary. General information about Lunar CATALYST is available on NASA's website (http://www.nasa.gov/lunarcatalyst), and additional information may be obtained from the companies themselves: Astrobotic Technology, Masten Space Systems, and Moon Express.
In May 2019, all three of the Lunar CATALYST companies were selected for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to deliver science and technology payloads.
More »Anticipated Benefits
Development of commercial capabilities to deliver payloads to the lunar surface may provide a cost-effective means of executing various types of science and exploration missions on the Moon. Missions like NASA's Resource Prospector, which aims to find, excavate, and characterize lunar volatiles such as water, hydrogen, and oxygen, could benefit from these capabilities.
Development of commercial capabilities to deliver payloads to the lunar surface may provide a cost-effective means of executing various types of science and exploration missions on the Moon, including:
- Resource prospecting. Surface missons to characterize the extent, distribution, and form of lunar volatiles such as water, hydrogen, and oxygen will provide critical "ground truth" and inform the development of sustainable and affordable exploration architectures. A Lunar Exploration and Analysis Group (LEAG) report concluded that "small near term missions can provide critical data to resolve important unknowns regarding polar volatiles science and resource utilization."
- Technology demonstrations. Missions to deploy technology demonstration payloads and use the Moon as a proving ground can lower the risk and accelerate the development of exploration systems, including those with application to the surface of Mars, such as regolith processing, habitation, and mobility.
- Sample return. In the report, Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022, the National Research Council recommended Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return as a candidate NASA New Frontiers science mission.
- Geophysical network deployment missions. In the report, Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022, the National Research Council recommended Lunar Geophysical Network as a candidate NASA New Frontiers science mission.
The Lunar CATALYST initiative encourages and facilitates development of U.S. commercial robotic lunar cargo delivery capabilities by bringing decades of technical experience (most recently NASA's Mighty Eagle and Morpheus projects) to bear, and provides NASA technical expertise, access to test facilities, software, and the loaning of equipment. Providing these resources has been a critical force-multiplier that is accelerating the progress of commercial robotic lunar lander development.
More »Project Library
Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
NASA Headquarters
(HQ)
|
Lead Organization | NASA Center | Washington, District of Columbia |
| Co-Funding Partners | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Astrobotic Technology, Inc. | Industry | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Masten Space Systems, Inc. | Industry | Mojave, California |
| Moon Express, Inc. | Industry | Cape Canaveral, Florida |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
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Alabama
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California
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Florida
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Maryland
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Ohio
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Pennsylvania
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Texas
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Virginia
