(NASA/Getty Images)
(GOLDEN, Colo.) NASA is paying a private firm in Colorado a dollar to collect a sample of the moon, ABC News reported. It is one of four companies around the world to collect space resources and bring them back to NASA.
Lunar Outpost of Golden, CO proposed collecting only a $1 fee upon collecting samples from its lunar lander set to reach the lunar South Pole in 2023.
Both ispace Japan and ispace Europe are charging $5,000 for moon samples.
Masten Space Systems in California is collecting $15,000.
NASA will dole out a total of $25,001 to these companies.
In September, NASA first announced plans to begin outsourcing to commercial providers as part of its ambitious Artemis program to land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024.
“It’s time to establish the regulatory certainty to extract and trade space resources,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a tweet.
Space resources will play a key role in Artemis, NASA said in a statement. The ability to extract and use extraterrestrial resources such as moon dust helps ensure Artemis is safely and sustainably conducted in support of establishing human lunar exploration.
“These awards expand NASA’s innovative use of public-private partnerships to the Moon. We’re excited to join with our commercial and international partners to make Artemis the largest and most diverse global human space exploration coalition in history,” said Mike Gold, NASA’s acting associate administrator for international and interagency relations, in the statement. “Space resources are the fuel that will propel America and all of humanity to the stars.”