NASA just gave these 9 companies $24 million to dream up Artemis moon mission tech

An astronaut in the foreground on the right looks at a clipboard checklist as her underlings in the background maneuver turquoise machinery to move supplies around the lunar surface. A starry sky and the Earth hang above a horizon that rolls over a moon hangar.

A bevy of space companies will lend a hand to NASA's moon goals under new contracts centered around the agency's upcoming Artemis missions. Nine companies in seven states are now engaged, under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) Appendix R contracts.

"These contract awards are the catalyst for developing critical capabilities for the Artemis missions and the everyday needs of astronauts for long-term exploration on the lunar surface," Nujoud Merancy, deputy associate administrator, Strategy and Architecture Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in a statement.