NASA Selects Maxar as First Contractor to Build Lunar Orbit Platform

NASA has chosen Maxar Aerospace Technology as the first contractor to participate in the construction of its Jitway platform on the moon's orbit, a crucial step in the astronauts' mission to the Moon in 2024.

Shares of Maxar, based in Westminster, Colorado, jumped more than 20% after the announcement by NASA director Jim Predenstein at a meeting Thursday by a Florida school.

Trump's return to the moon has made it a top priority in the US space program, saying the mission would lay the groundwork for a mission to send humans to Mars.

On March 26, US Vice President Mike Bens announced that NASA was planning to build a lunar orbit space platform and bring American astronauts to the South Pole by 2024, by all means four years earlier than planned.