NASA has unveiled one of its most ambitious space plans yet — the construction of a permanent base on the Moon before eventually sending humans to Mars.
The US space agency has envisaged a sprawling lunar outpost across hundreds of square miles in the Moon’s south polar region, supported by robotic landers, lunar vehicles and hopping drones before human missions begin.
“This initiative will secure American leadership in space, unlock groundbreaking scientific discoveries, and forge the technologies and operational experience needed to send humans to Mars,” NASA said in a statement on Wednesday.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the lunar base would be “America’s and humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world”.
“Every mission, crewed and uncrewed, will be a learning opportunity as we return to the lunar surface, build the infrastructure to stay and master the skills required to live and operate in one of the most demanding and dangerous environments imaginable,” he said.
The Moon’s south polar region is of major scientific interest as it lies near some of the oldest lunar terrain, including the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the largest and oldest known impact basin in the solar system. Samples from the region could offer fresh insights into the early history of the Moon, the Earth-Moon system and the evolution of the solar system.
NASA has scheduled three uncrewed lunar missions — Moon Base I, II and III — for launch later this year.
The agency also announced new partnerships to support sustained lunar exploration. Companies including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic have been awarded contracts to build key machines for the programme.
NASA has selected Astrolab and Lunar Outpost to develop the first phase of Lunar Terrain Vehicles, while Blue Origin has been awarded task orders to support the delivery of these vehicles to the lunar surface. Firefly Aerospace has been selected to build the spacecraft that will carry NASA’s MoonFall drones to the Moon.
The award to Astrolab is worth $219 million, while Lunar Outpost has received a $220 million contract.
Moon Base I is targeted for launch later this year using Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 cargo lander, known as Endurance. Moon Base II is planned aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander, while Moon Base III is also targeted for this year.
Earlier this year, NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts — NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on a nearly 10-day loop around the Moon. NASA is also preparing to launch Artemis III in 2027.
India, meanwhile, is preparing for its first crewed spaceflight under the Gaganyaan mission in 2027 and crewed lunar missions under the Chandrayaan programme by 2028. The long-term roadmap includes building a national space station by 2035 and placing an Indian astronaut on the lunar surface by 2040.
India is also a signatory to the Artemis Accords, a US-led non-binding framework that lays down principles for lunar exploration, including cooperation, interoperability and data sharing.
China is also pushing ahead with its plan to land humans on the Moon by 2030. Earlier this week, it launched the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, sending a crew of astronauts to the Tiangong space station.
