Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) is a NASA initiative that uses firm-fixed-price contracts to purchase delivery services to the lunar surface from private companies, rather than building its own landers. Providers include Intuitive Machines (Nova-C lander), Astrobotic (Peregrine and Griffin landers), Firefly Aerospace (Blue Ghost lander), and Draper (SERIES-2). Intuitive Machines achieved the first successful CLPS delivery in February 2024 with the IM-1 mission.
CLPS represents a shift in NASA's approach to lunar exploration, applying the commercial-crew model proven with SpaceX and Boeing to lunar logistics. By accepting higher risk and tolerating some mission failures, NASA catalyzes a commercial lunar economy at a fraction of the cost of government-developed landers. The program has awarded over $2.5 billion in task orders for missions through the late 2020s, delivering science instruments, technology demonstrations, and resource prospecting payloads.