NASA is already ordering landers, rovers and drones for its planned Moon base.

• The space agency announced hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to four U.S. companies working on gear to support the off-world outpost.

🚗 Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin will make two landers to deliver Moon buggies to a spot near the lunar south pole.

• They'll be built by Astrolab and Lunar Outpost.
• Firefly Aerospace will deliver the first drones to the Moon.

👩‍🚀 All this hardware is supposed to arrive before the first Artemis astronauts land on the Moon.

• That's planned for 2028 at the earliest.

🛰️ Astronauts will first practice docking NASA's Orion capsule with lunar landers from Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX.

• That mission — Artemis III — is planned for mid-2027, in Earth orbit.
• Neither of those landers are ready yet, and that date could slip.

🚀 NASA is then targeting a crewed lunar landing as soon as 2028.

• That will be followed by missions to build up infrastructure for a long-term lunar base, including a power grid.

The agency hopes that such a base will support astronauts for extended visits sometime in the next decade.

🔬 NASA administrator Jared Isaacman told reporters that the point of the base is to encourage a lunar economy, conduct scientific research and lay the foundation for a Mars trip.

• "For those waiting patiently, the grand return is close at hand, and we will not slow down." Go deeper.

🧊 Meanwhile: Indian scientists have found signs of potential water-ice under four craters near the Moon's south pole, Bloomberg reports. (Gift link.)

1 in 4 Hispanic Trump voters say they wouldn't vote for him again, Russell Contreras reports from a new UnidosUS poll.

• That compares to just 5% of Harris 2024 voters.

👎 Two-thirds of Latino voters disapprove of Trump's job performance, compared with 30% who approve.

• On the 2026 House ballot, Latino voters back the Democratic candidate over the Republican candidate 54% to 27%, with 19% undecided.

📈 The GOP hoped Trump's 2024 Latino gains marked a lasting realignment.

• Democrats now see inflation, tariffs and aggressive immigration enforcement reopening Latino-heavy seats they feared were lost.

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1. 🇮🇷 President Trump said during a Cabinet meeting today that Iran is "very much intent" on making a deal, but he won't let the Iranians rush him into anything. Trump told reporters: "They thought they're going to outwait me. ... I don't care about the midterms." Get the latest.
2. 🚒 Nine people are missing after a tank imploded at a Longview, Wash., paper mill. One person has been confirmed dead. Get the latest.
3. 📺 CBS News declined to renew its contract with "60 Minutes" correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, six months after editor-in-chief Bari Weiss pulled her segment on torture in Salvadoran prisons. N.Y. Times gift link.

Downtown D.C. is in for one of its biggest summers in recent memory, with World Cup events, America's 250th birthday celebrations and more, Axios D.C.'s Anna Spiegel reports.

⚽️ FIFA and Freedom 250 organizers are launching a World Cup Fan Zone on the National Mall.

• It'll have live match screenings, food and interactive exhibits (June 11–July 19).

🇺🇸 That overlaps with the "Great American State Fair," an Americana-themed festival channeling the World's Fair (June 25–July 10).

• Performers include Martina McBride, Vanilla Ice, Flo Rida and more. Visitors can also expect a 110-foot Ferris wheel overlooking the Mall.

🏎️ Finally, Aug. 22–23 brings an IndyCar race around downtown D.C.

• Go deeper ... Get Axios D.C.