NASA's permanent Moon base plans start with three missions this year

NASA announced upcoming lunar missions to the Moon’s South Pole region to support a crewed Artemis landing in 2028. Moon Base I is scheduled for no earlier than fall 2026 and will use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander to deliver NASA payloads including the Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies and the Laser Retroreflective Array. These payloads will study thruster interactions with the lunar surface and improve spacecraft navigation using reflected laser light. Moon Base II will deliver more than 1,100 pounds of cargo on Astrobotic’s Griffin lander, including Astrolab’s FLIP rover, to inform future lunar terrain vehicle operations. Moon Base III will fly Lunar Vertex on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Trinity lunar lander to study lunar swirls and improve understanding of surface evolution and material behavior under extreme conditions.

"Moon Base I, launching "no earlier than fall 2026," will use Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander to bring NASA payloads to the Moon, including the Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies instrument and the Laser Retroreflective Array. NASA will use these "to study how thrusters interact with the Moon's surface" and help "orbiting spacecraft determine a more precise location using reflected laser light.""

"Moon Base II, launching "later this year," will "deliver more than 1,100 pounds of cargo on Astrobotic's Griffin lander, including Astrolab's FLIP rover," helping to "inform future lunar terrain vehicle, or LTV, operations." LTVs include the new rovers astronauts will use on the Moon (more on those below)."

"Moon Base III, "also targeted for this year," will take a few payloads to the Moon for NASA, as well as the ESA and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute. The main payload is Lunar Vertex, which will "fly on Intuitive Machine's Nova-C Trinity lunar lander and study lunar swirls, or light spots on the surface of the Moon, to improve understanding of surface evolution and material behavior under extreme conditions.""

"NASA awarded $219 million to Astrolab and $220 million to Lunar Outpost to make two new Moon rovers. It also awarded $188 million to Blue Origin to deliver the rovers to the Moon. Astrolab's Crewed Lunar Vehicle, or CLV-1, is a "crewed rover designed to transport astronauts, carry supplies, and support remote operations." Lunar Outpost's Peg"

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