NASA plans moon base with landers, rovers

• NASA awards contracts to four US firms to advance moon base plans
• Blue Origin, Astrolab, Lunar Outpost and Firefly to supply equipment
• Infrastructure aims to arrive by 2028 to support Artemis astronauts

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is advancing its plans for a moon base by ordering landers, rovers, and drones, just two months after the Artemis II mission

successfully flew around the moon. The space agency unveiled the initial phase of its moon base initiative on Tuesday, awarding contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to four U.S. companies for the project.

Contract Awards and Key Partnerships

Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, will supply two landers to transport moon buggies to a designated area near the lunar south pole. Astrolab and Lunar Outpost will construct these lunar terrain vehicles. Additionally, Firefly Aerospace, which successfully landed on the moon last year, is tasked with delivering the first drones to the lunar surface.

Timeline for Moon Base Infrastructure

NASA aims for all necessary equipment to arrive before the planned landing of the first Artemis astronauts, expected as early as 2028. The agency has set a target of mid-2027 for the Artemis III mission, where another crew will practice docking NASA's Orion capsule with the lunar landers developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX, led by Elon Musk.

The second phase of the moon base development will begin in 2029 and extend into the early 2030s, focusing on constructing a permanent infrastructure, including a power grid. NASA anticipates that the base will be ready to support astronauts for extended periods during the third phase, 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, highlighting the ambitious scope of the project.

Garcia-Galan envisions a vast moon base covering hundreds of square miles, with drones named MoonFall positioned at the corners to mark the territory.

International Collaboration and Goals

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasized that these markers are intended to respect the presence of other nations' spacecraft and equipment that may be in the vicinity, advocating for mutual respect among international partners.

The overarching goal of the moon base is to foster a lunar economy while conducting scientific research and establishing a foundation for future Mars missions. “For those waiting patiently, the grand return is close at hand and we will not slow down,” Isaacman affirmed. “We are really just getting started.”