NASA selects SpaceX, Blue Origin, more to build next human lunar lander

After receiving an additional USD 1.6 billion funding for its space programs, NASA has announced that it has selected 11 private companies to work with for building the next human landers for its Moon program.

On the official blog, NASA listed companies including Elon Musk's SpaceX, Amazon's Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin, and American aerospace giant SpaceX, among the partners which will help send American astronauts - the first woman and the next man, on the Moon's south pole by 2024 and build sustainable missions by 2028.

This program, called Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP), will require participating companies to contribute at least 20 per cent of the total project cost. The total award amount for all companies is USD 45.5 million.