Less than two months after four astronauts swung around the Moon, a nation that once planted its flag there has begun the quieter, slower work of deciding what it means to stay. NASA's first phase of a lunar base, now being built through contracts with four American firms, is a reminder that exploration tends to move from footprints to foundations. Whether the hardware arrives in time for crews as early as 2028 will show whether that ambition is patient enough to last.
NASA Sketches First Phase of Moon Base, Awarding Contracts for Landers, Buggies and Drones
"We're permanently here and we're not giving it up."
Mark
Why does it matter that contracts are going out now, so soon after Artemis II?
Mimi
It shows the plan moving from flights to infrastructure. Landers, buggies and drones are being ordered before any crew has landed, so the base is meant to be waiting for the astronauts.
Luke
Worth noting the dates are targets. Artemis III is aimed at mid-2027 and the landing at "as early as 2028." Those are goals, not commitments.
Mark
Who is building what?
Mimi
Blue Origin supplies two landers to carry buggies near the south pole. Astrolab and Lunar Outpost build the buggies. Firefly, which landed on the Moon last year, delivers the first drones.
Luke
The contracts are described only as hundreds of millions of dollars in total. We don't have a per-company breakdown.
Mark
What is the MoonFall idea?
Mimi
Drones at the corners of a base that could cover hundreds of square kilometres, marking its perimeter. Isaacman says it is meant to respect other nations' equipment nearby.
Luke
He also says he expects reciprocity. That is an expectation, not an agreement, and the reporting names no other country that has signed on.
Mark
And the long view?
Mimi
Power grid and permanent infrastructure from 2029 into the early 2030s, then habitats for long stays sometime in the 2030s.
Luke
That last phase has no firm date. "Sometime in the 2030s" is as precise as it gets.
Der Puls
- Hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts have gone out to four firms, and the clock toward 2028 is already running.
- Landers, moon buggies and drones must reach the south pole before astronauts do, leaving little room for slippage.
- Artemis III in mid-2027 will test whether landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX can dock with the Orion capsule.
- Drones named MoonFall are planned to mark a sprawling base perimeter, raising questions about shared space with other nations' equipment.
- The permanent power grid and infrastructure of the 2029 phase remain ahead, with the path to lasting habitation still taking shape.
Less than two months after four astronauts swung around the Moon, a nation that once planted its flag there has begun the quieter, slower work of deciding what it means to stay. NASA's first phase of a lunar base, now being built through contracts with four American firms, is a reminder that exploration tends to move from footprints to foundations. Whether the hardware arrives in time for crews as early as 2028 will show whether that ambition is patient enough to last.
Less than two months after Artemis II carried four astronauts around the Moon, NASA has started ordering the hardware for a base on its surface. On Tuesday the agency released the first phase of its lunar base plan and awarded contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to four American companies.
Blue Origin will supply a pair of landers to carry lunar terrain vehicles, the moon buggies, to a site near the south pole. Astrolab and Lunar Outpost will build those buggies, and Firefly Aerospace, which landed successfully on the Moon last year, will deliver the first drones. Ideally all of it will be in place before the first Artemis astronauts land, as early as 2028.
The road there runs through Artemis III, targeted for mid-2027, when a crew will practise docking the Orion capsule with landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX. The base itself unfolds in three phases: this first one, a second from 2029 into the early 2030s that builds a power grid and permanent infrastructure, and a third in the 2030s that supports extended stays in permanent habitats.
Carlos Garcia-Galan, NASA's moon base program executive, imagines a day when the agency can say it is permanently there. Jared Isaacman said the MoonFall drones marking the base's edges are meant to respect other nations' equipment nearby, and that he expects the same courtesy back. For him, the base is a step toward a lunar economy, science, and eventually Mars. "We are really just getting started," he said.
Less than two months after Artemis II carried four astronauts around the Moon, NASA has started ordering the hardware for a base on its surface. On Tuesday the agency laid out the first phase of its lunar base plan and awarded contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to four American companies.
Blue Origin, the company founded by Jeff Bezos, will supply a pair of landers. Their job is to deliver moon buggies to the lunar surface at a site near the Moon's south pole. The buggies, which NASA calls lunar terrain vehicles, will be built by two firms, Astrolab and Lunar Outpost. Firefly Aerospace, which landed successfully on the Moon last year, will deliver the first drones.
The timing matters. Ideally, all of this equipment will be in place before the first Artemis astronauts touch down, a landing NASA has planned for as early as 2028.
The road there runs through two more missions. April's Artemis II flight took its four-person crew deeper into space than the Apollo crews reached in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Artemis III, which NASA is targeting for mid-2027, will send another crew to practice docking the Orion capsule, in orbit around Earth, with the lunar landers being developed by Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX. Two astronauts would then land on the Moon as soon as 2028.
The base itself is planned in three phases. The first is the one now getting contracts. The second, running from 2029 into the early 2030s, will begin building permanent infrastructure, including a power grid. The third, expected sometime in the 2030s, is when the base should be able to support astronauts for extended stays in specialised permanent habitats.
Carlos Garcia-Galan, NASA's moon base program executive, described what that milestone would mean: "Then we'll be able to say, 'Hey, we're permanently here and we're not giving it up.'" He pictures a base spread over hundreds of square kilometres, its perimeter marked by drones, called MoonFall, stationed at the corners.
NASA's Jared Isaacman, whose title the source does not specify, said those territory markers are meant to respect other countries' spacecraft and equipment that may be nearby, and that he expects the same courtesy in return. He stressed that the base is meant to encourage a lunar economy, support scientific research and lay the groundwork for an expedition to Mars.
"For those waiting patiently, the grand return is close at hand and we will not slow down," Isaacman said. "We are really just getting started."
The next marker to watch is Artemis III in mid-2027, when the docking tests with the Blue Origin and SpaceX landers will show how ready the crew-carrying side of the plan is.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Then we'll be able to say, 'Hey, 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.— Jared Isaacman, NASA
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