In a new step forward, NASA announced Thursday that nine companies in the United States are eligible to bid on $2.6 billion worth of contracts over the next 10 years to deliver services to the moon.

The companies include a Pittsburgh-based company Astrobotic Technology which was founded in 2008 by Carnegie Mellon University professor Red Whitaker, and is developing robots to operate on the moon and other planets.

Earlier this year, NASA awarded Astrobotic a $10 million grant to create a precision landing system for their spacecraft, Peregrine.

“Potentially, this spacecraft could be the first thing to show that we can produce water fuel from the moon and potentially turn the moon into a refueling station for spacecraft to go deeper and deeper into space,” said John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic.