2025 is going to be another big year for commercial moon missions

2025 will see many commercial moon missions under NASA's CLPS program with companies like Intuitive Machines and Blue Origin.

: 2025 is set to be a significant year for commercial lunar missions, with half a dozen missions planned under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Companies like Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, and Blue Origin are key participants, deploying technologies to study lunar conditions and establish a communication network on the moon. Notably, Intuitive Machines aims to demonstrate the feasibility of ice mining on the lunar south pole. Although extensive activities are planned, human missions to the moon have been postponed, with Artemis II now scheduled for 2026.

2025 is poised to witness a surge in commercial moon missions, spearheaded by NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Key players include Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, and Blue Origin, each aiming to deliver payloads and technologies that promise to expand our understanding of the lunar surface and possibly pave the way for future human exploration.

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 has already launched, carrying ten science payloads to investigate various lunar phenomena. Intuitive Machines, after a successful moon landing last year, plans to launch the IM-2 Nova-C lander to drill and analyze samples on-site at the lunar south pole, while also facilitating a GNSS-based navigation system and a lunar communication network.

Meanwhile, Blue Origin works towards its Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander mission, targeting a launch in spring or summer. Despite this flurry of activity, human presence on the moon remains distant, as NASA shifts the timeline for its Artemis missions, pushing Artemis II to April 2026 and Artemis III to mid-2027.

CLPSLunar Missionsspace exploration