WASHINGTON  –  Three companies are in the running to provide NASA’s next Moon rover for crewed missions planned later this decade, the space agency said Wednesday. Texas-based Intuitive Machines — which landed a robot near the lunar south pole in February — Lunar Outpost of Colorado and Venturi Astrolab of California have been tasked with developing designs under a contract with a combined maximum potential value of $4.6 billion. The US space agency anticipates awarding one of the three companies a “demonstration task order” — meaning a test run for their Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), on the surface of the Moon, prior to the arrival of crew for the Artemis 5 mission that is currently set for 2030, according to NASA’s latest budget request. “We are building up the capabilities needed to establish a longer-term exploration and presence of the Moon,” Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist told reporters. “I like to imagine the views and the vistas that the LTV will enable us to see from the surface of the Moon.” Although the contracts went to relatively new companies, they have partnered with more established players in the aerospace industry. Intuitive Machines said it had been given an initial $30 million to advance its prototype, called the Reusable Autonomous Crewed Exploration Rover (RACER), with teammates including AVL, Boeing, Michelin and Northrop Grumman.