The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration (Coalition) applauds NASA for awarding a Human Landing System (HLS) contract for the Artemis program. Along with the Space Launch System, the Orion spacecraft, Exploration Ground Systems, and the Gateway, the HLS is a critical component for enabling the return of astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era.
The awarded contract to mature an HLS to flight is a critical milestone which will ensure America’s return to the Moon with industry and international partners keeps moving forward. “The Human Landing System is the final component needed to land humans on the Moon again, this time to learn how to live on another world and prepare for crewed missions to Mars,” said Andrew Allen, the Coalition’s Acting President and CEO. “Landing on the lunar South Pole, further than we have ever gone before, with the HLS, will allow us to gain unprecedented knowledge in science and exploration.”