NASA is looking for companies that want to mine the moon

NASA—building on successful partnerships with private companies to resupply the International Space Station—is now looking to private entrepreneurs to help exploit resources on the moon. In its latest initiative, unveiled in late January, the US space agency is proposing private companies take advantage of NASA’s extensive know-how, its engineers and access to its installations to help design and build lunar robots. But unlike NASA’s contracts with SpaceX and Orbital Sciences to deliver cargo to the ISS, the moon proposal—dubbed CATALYST (Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown)—would get no US government economic help.