We're Going to the Moon
On April 1, 2026, NASA's SLS lifted off carrying four astronauts on Artemis II, the first crewed mission to lunar orbit in over fifty years. This is not a replay of Apollo.
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Moon
"Getting us to the Moon and staying there."
Lunar RFP Tracker — Moon Contracts & Procurement
The Moon page tracks every active and pending solicitation for lunar development, from NASA Artemis program contracts and CLPS delivery task orders to ISRU mining pilots and surface infrastructure. Browse active lunar bids, follow the Artemis program tracker, or explore CLPS mission history. For the full ranked view across all destinations, visit the 2026 tracker. For real-time bid updates, watch the live ABOI feed.
Latest Analysis
EDITORIAL STEM
CNSA / 17 Nationsopen
The ILRS Coalition | China's Answer to the Artemis Accords
17 vs 67 nationsRival framework
China's International Lunar Research Station coalition reached 17 nations, with Nicaragua, Pakistan, Serbia, and Kazakhstan among recent joiners. A parallel framework to the 67-nation Artemis Accords. Two blocs, two rulebooks, one Moon.
EDITORIAL STEM
ROSCOSMOS / CNSAopen
A Reactor on the Moon | The Russia-China Nuclear Pact
~$17B concept2033-2035
Russia and China signed a May 2025 MOU for a joint lunar south-pole fission plant, with NPO Lavochkin taking the design contract in December. The forcing function behind the US mandate for its own reactor by 2030.
EDITORIAL STEM
CNSAopen
Chang'e-7 Targets Shackleton | China's Water-Ice Survey
Flagship missionLaunch 2026
China's multi-element Chang'e-7 heads for Shackleton crater with an orbiter, lander, and a mini flying probe to survey south-pole water ice. The data feeds ILRS site selection, and the US is watching the map it draws.
EDITORIAL STEM
INTERLUNE / DOEopen
The Helium-3 Order Book Opens | Interlune and the DOE's Historic Buy
$6.9M SBIR III2028 CLPS
Interlune's NASA SBIR III funds helium-3 and hydrogen extraction from regolith, and the DOE made the first US government purchase of a lunar resource. The order book for Moon-mined materials just opened.
EDITORIAL STEM
JAXA / ISROopen
LUPEX | The JAXA-ISRO Hunt for South Pole Ice
Joint missionLaunch Dec 2026
A JAXA rover on an ISRO lander, headed for the lunar south pole to survey water ice. The successor to the cancelled VIPER, and the clearest test yet of whether the ice is minable, not just present.
EDITORIAL STEM
UAE / MBRSCopen
Rashid 2 | The UAE's Far-Side Gambit
Firefly landerFar side 2026
The Emirates' Rashid 2 rover cleared testing and shipped to the US for a 2026 Firefly launch toward the lunar far side, with CNES cameras aboard. The first Arab mission to the side of the Moon no one sees.
EDITORIAL STEM
NASAopen
Gateway on Pause | NASA Pivots to the Surface
Program shiftSurface-first
NASA paused the Lunar Gateway and redirected resources toward a surface base, leaving CSA's Canadarm3 and the UAE airlock commitment in limbo. What gets built when the orbital outpost loses priority.
EDITORIAL STEM
CNSAopen
Chang'e-6's Farside Haul | 1,935 Grams Rewriting Lunar Science
1,935 g samplesScience 2025-26
China's Chang'e-6 returned 1,935 grams of farside regolith, generating landmark findings on volcanic activity 2.8 billion years ago and an unexplained magnetic rebound. The science head start that comes with going first.
EDITORIAL STEM
NASA KENNEDYopen
MSolo | Sniffing the Moon for Water
Sources SoughtDue Aug 3, 2026
NASA Kennedy's MSolo mass spectrometer measures the gases coming off lunar operations, the instrument that confirms where the ice actually is before anyone commits to mining it. The measurement layer beneath the headlines.