NASA’s June Moon Base update said it would solicit proposals for additional lunar deliveries, including a South Pole optical imager, another science manifest and a power-and-avionics demonstration. The agency separately described further CLPS 1.0 and CLPS 2.0 competitions but did not publish an orbiter task-order specification. [4]
The expected timing comes from Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus, who said the orbiter surveyor opportunity could appear “a little bit later this summer, maybe early fall.” He said Intuitive Machines expects to compete as a prime contractor, supplying the spacecraft bus and imagers while integrating communications, data processing and mapping products. [2]