Photos: Delta 2 rocket blasts off with SMAP satellite

NASA awarded Northrop Grumman a contract worth as much as $84.5 million earlier this month to supply rocket motors for a first-of-its-kind launch vehicle to fire a capsule of rock samples off of Mars on a journey back to Earth.

NASA has announced that Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines and OrbitBeyond won contracts to deliver science instruments and technology demonstration payloads to the moon’s surface in the first of a series of robotic missions preceding a human return to the moon.

The gates to the Johnson Space Center have been closed to all but essential personnel as heavy rains from Tropical Storm Harvey inundate the Houston area. Flight controllers are on lock down at the Mission Control Center but continue to monitor the health of the International Space Station as usual.