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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA has initiated the procurement of landers, rovers, and drones to establish a significant moon base, following the recent
Artemis II mission's successful lunar flyby. The space agency detailed its initial phase for lunar base development on Tuesday, granting contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to four American companies.
Contract Awards and Equipment
Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, will supply two landers designed to transport moon buggies to a location near the lunar south pole. The lunar terrain vehicles will be manufactured by Astrolab and Lunar Outpost. Additionally, Firefly Aerospace, which successfully landed on the moon last year, will provide the first drones for the lunar environment.Timeline for Artemis Missions
This equipment is expected to arrive before the planned landing of Artemis astronauts on the moon, scheduled for as early as 2028. During the Artemis II mission in April, four astronauts orbited the moon, marking a deeper journey into space than that achieved by Apollo crews in the 1960s and 1970s. For the upcoming Artemis III mission in 2024, another group of astronauts will test the docking procedures of NASA's Orion capsule with the lunar landers developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX, led by Elon Musk.Future Phases of Lunar Base Development
NASA aims to launch Artemis III in mid-2027, with a subsequent landing by two astronauts anticipated as early as 2028. The second phase of the moon base, expected to commence in 2029 and extend into the early 2030s, will focus on constructing permanent infrastructure, including a power grid. The third phase will see the base ready to accommodate astronauts for extended periods in specialized habitats, projected to occur in the 2030s.Vision for a Permanent Lunar Presence
“Then we'll be able to say, 'Hey, we're permanently here and we're not giving it up,'” stated Carlos Garcia-Galan, NASA's moon base program executive.Garcia-Galan envisions the moon base extending over hundreds of square miles, with drones, referred to as MoonFall, marking the perimeter at various points.
International Cooperation and Goals
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasized that these markers aim to respect the spacecraft and equipment of other nations that may be nearby, and he anticipates mutual respect in this regard.The overarching goal of the moon base is to foster a lunar economy, advance scientific research, and lay the groundwork for future expeditions to Mars. “For those waiting patiently, the grand return is close at hand and we will not slow down,” Isaacman remarked. “We are really just getting started.”
