With the exception of a few targeted falls, NASA has never landed on the surface of the moon since the time of Apollo
NASA representatives opened the period for submitting applications for commercial proposals for lunar landing sites. They noted that the selected technology is able to start as early as 2019.
This is another agency step to return man to the lunar surface, planned in the 2020s. The timeline was chosen partly because of a NASA cooperation plan with commercial companies to reduce the burden on the agency and budget.
The bottom line is that early missions will help prepare for more complex future tasks, such as finding useful resources, creating a seismic network to understand the inner lunar structure, and studying lunar mineralogy and chemistry to understand the origin of the satellite. NASA does not place restrictions on how these commercial landing sites will look, although the agency still wants projects with a scientific or technological focus. It will be good if the mission not only explores the moon, but can explore the sun and the earth from the side. Or direct the camera into the universe. It is also good if advanced technologies are used that can be applied in Martian landings.
To be among the participants, projects must be able to start no later than December 2021. Offers are waiting for November 19th. If companies fail to meet deadlines, then there is no reason to panic, since NASA will repeat the proposal a year later.
