Blue Origin stretched lander with astronauts
An illustration of a crewed version of the Blue Moon lander, using stretched tanks and with an ascent stage on top. Credit: Blue Origin

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — NASA announced Sept. 27 the award of more than $40 million in contracts to 14 companies, including Blue Origin and SpaceX, to develop technologies that can support NASA’s long-term exploration plans.

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Jeff Foust writes about space policy, commercial space, and related topics for SpaceNews. He earned a Ph.D. in planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree with honors in geophysics and planetary science...