The US space agency continues to look toward the private sector as it plans for life beyond the International Space Station.

NASA has awarded a Space Act Agreement contract to Special Aerospace Services (SAS) to develop a commercial version of its Autonomous Maneuvering Unit (AMU) astronaut jetpack.

The move comes as the US space agency looks ahead to a future without the International Space Station (ISS), in which private companies will build and lift a series of commercial space stations to low Earth orbit.