NASA has announced new contracts, mission targets and infrastructure updates for its Moon Base initiative, which is intended to support sustained human presence and expanded scientific and commercial activity at the lunar South Pole.
NASA said the first missions will begin building the capabilities needed ahead of future Artemis astronaut landings.
“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.”
NASA outlined three initial Moon Base missions. Moon Base I is targeted for launch no earlier than fall 2026 and will use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander to deliver NASA payloads to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge. The mission will include instruments to study how thrusters interact with the lunar surface and to help orbiting spacecraft determine more precise locations.
Moon Base II is planned for launch later this year and will deliver more than 1,100 pounds of cargo on Astrobotic’s Griffin lander, including Astrolab’s FLIP rover. NASA said the mission will help mature mobility systems for future lunar terrain vehicle operations.
Moon Base III is also targeted for this year and will carry the first payload selected through NASA’s Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon initiative. Its anchor investigation, Lunar Vertex, will study lunar swirls using Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Trinity lunar lander.
NASA also awarded Astrolab $219 million and Lunar Outpost $220 million to build and deliver the first phase of crewed lunar terrain vehicles. The rovers are expected to support crewed and uncrewed mobility on the lunar surface by 2028 through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.
To deliver the rovers to the Moon’s South Pole region, NASA awarded Blue Origin $188 million, with an option period worth $280.4 million, for two task orders.
NASA also updated its MoonFall mission, which will send four drones to make short flights across the lunar surface and survey potential Artemis landing sites. Firefly Aerospace has been selected to build the spacecraft that will transport the drones, with launch targeted for 2028.
Article & Image Source: NASA
