NASA revealed details about its plan to build a base on the moon this week, calling it “humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world.”
During an event on Tuesday at the space agency’s headquarters, NASA announced planned launch schedules and future milestones for the first Moon Base infrastructure.
“The Moon Base will be America’s and humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
“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.
“We will go for the science, for all we stand to gain from an economic and technological perspective, for the innovations that will make life better here on Earth, and to prepare for where we will inevitably go next.”
The Moon Base will be constructed near the lunar South Pole using a methodical, phased approach. NASA will begin with robotic missions, technological experiments, and early demonstrations before moving on to semi-permanent infrastructure and, eventually, a permanent human presence.
To test technologies, scout the lunar South Pole region, and prepare for surface operations, Phase One will begin with a brief series of robotic missions. In Phase Two, NASA plans to begin building semi-permanent infrastructure and start early logistics and habitation operations by 2029. With regular crew rotations and continuous surface activity, Phase Three will scale up operations to achieve a sustainable presence. At that point, the Moon Base will become the home base for Artemis astronauts who will live and work there.