We're permanently here and we're not giving it up
Blue Origin, Astrolab, Lunar Outpost, and Firefly Aerospace secured contracts to deliver landers, terrain vehicles, and drones to the moon's south pole region. The three-phase moon base plan spans 2028-2030s, progressing from initial hardware delivery through permanent infrastructure including power grids and extended habitats.
- Blue Origin, Astrolab, Lunar Outpost, and Firefly Aerospace awarded contracts for landers, rovers, and drones
- Hardware targeted for deployment before 2028 Artemis crewed landing
- Three-phase plan: initial hardware (2028), permanent infrastructure including power grid (2029-early 2030s), extended habitats (2030s)
- Base planned near moon's south pole, sprawling across hundreds of square miles
NASA awarded hundreds of millions in contracts to four U.S. companies for moon base hardware including landers, rovers, and drones, targeting deployment before 2028 Artemis astronaut landings.
NASA is moving fast. Less than two months after four astronauts circled the moon farther than any human since the Apollo era, the space agency has already begun ordering the hardware to build a permanent base there. On Tuesday, NASA announced contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to four American companies tasked with delivering landers, rovers, and drones to the lunar surface near the south pole.
Blue Origin, the aerospace company owned by Jeff Bezos, will provide two landers designed to ferry lunar terrain vehicles to the moon. Those vehicles themselves will be built by Astrolab and Lunar Outpost, companies that specialize in the kind of equipment needed to move across the lunar landscape. Firefly Aerospace, which successfully landed on the moon last year, will deliver the first drones. The timeline is aggressive: all of this hardware is meant to be in place before the first crewed Artemis landing, targeted for as early as 2028.
The Artemis II mission in April demonstrated NASA's confidence in the program's trajectory. Those four astronauts traveled deeper into space than any human since the final Apollo missions in the early 1970s, orbiting the moon and returning safely. Next year, Artemis III will send another crew to practice docking NASA's Orion capsule with the lunar landers being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX. NASA is aiming for mid-2027 for that mission, with the actual landing to follow in 2028.
The moon base itself is being built in phases. The first phase, happening now, focuses on getting the essential hardware in place. The second phase, running from 2029 into the early 2030s, will establish permanent infrastructure, including a power grid. The third phase, sometime in the 2030s, will see the construction of specialized habitats capable of supporting astronauts for extended stays. When that happens, said Carlos Garcia-Galan, NASA's moon base program executive, the agency will finally be able to say the moon is permanently inhabited.
Garcia-Galan envisions the base sprawling across hundreds of square miles, with drones positioned at the perimeter to mark the territory. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasized that these boundary markers are meant as a gesture of respect toward other nations' spacecraft and equipment that may be operating in the same region. He expects other countries to extend the same courtesy.
The moon base serves multiple purposes. It will stimulate economic activity in space, provide a platform for scientific research, and serve as a testing ground for technologies needed for eventual human missions to Mars. Isaacman framed the moment as the beginning of something larger. "For those waiting patiently, the grand return is close at hand and we will not slow down," he said. "We are really just getting started."
Notable Quotes
We're permanently here and we're not giving it up— Carlos Garcia-Galan, NASA moon base program executive
For those waiting patiently, the grand return is close at hand and we will not slow down. We are really just getting started.— Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why move so quickly? The Artemis II mission just happened.
Because the window is open. They've proven the technology works, the public is watching, and Congress is funding it. Delay now and momentum dies.
What's the actual purpose of a moon base? Scientific research?
That's part of it, but it's also about permanence. Showing the world—and other countries—that we're not just visiting. We're staying.
These drones marking territory—that sounds like claiming the moon.
Not quite. It's more like saying: this is where we're working, please don't land your equipment here. It's practical, not imperial. Though the line between the two can blur.
When will people actually live there?
Not for years. The habitats won't be ready until the 2030s. Until then, it's supply runs and short visits. Building the foundation.
Why the south pole specifically?
Water ice. It's there, frozen in the permanently shadowed craters. That means fuel, drinking water, oxygen. Everything you need to stay.
And Mars? How does this connect?
It's a proving ground. Learn to live on the moon, and you learn how to live on Mars. Same challenges, same solutions, closer to home.