Source : Perth Now news
NASA is planning to build a permanent base on the Moon by 2032, with astronauts eventually able to live and work there for extended periods.
The ambitious plans were revealed at the agency’s Max Power event at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where NASA announced new contracts covering lunar landers, robotic exploration, power systems and space transportation.
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said: “When our astronauts return to the Moon, they will arrive with the first elements of the Moon Base already waiting for them on the surface.”
The agency wants essential equipment and raw materials delivered ahead of human missions, allowing astronauts to begin establishing infrastructure rather than starting from scratch.
The plans represent a major change from NASA’s previous approach, with the agency abandoning its long-delayed Lunar Gateway project in favour of developing infrastructure directly on the lunar surface.
NASA’s strategy will unfold in three stages, beginning with robotic exploration before moving towards “semi-habitable infrastructure” and eventually a permanent base.
A major part of the programme is a 10-year contract worth up to $10 billion (£7.5 billion) for lunar deliveries, including the development and operation of landers.
NASA is also developing a nuclear-powered rover called the Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping and In-Situ Exploration, or Promise.
Unlike solar-powered vehicles, Promise could continue operating during the Moon’s two-week-long lunar night.
It is designed to investigate permanently shadowed craters that may contain water ice.
The rover will also carry a drill capable of extracting material from up to three feet beneath the lunar surface.
NASA has awarded Blue Origin a $94 million (£70.55 million) contract connected to the mission, with a potential additional $140 million (£105 million) payment if the company delivers the rover to the lunar South Pole.
The agency is also developing solar arrays, batteries and wireless power systems for lunar infrastructure.
Carlos García-Galán, manager of NASA’s Moon Base Programme, said: “We’ve consolidated numerous efforts into a streamlined programme, evolving our human exploration architecture into an iterative and sustained campaign for Moon Base technology development and implementation.”
He added: “Most importantly, we’ve taken action, awarding new contracts and forging new partnerships to accelerate development.”
NASA’s next Artemis mission is currently scheduled for 2027, with a Moon landing planned for 2028, leaving the agency just four years to build towards its 2032 target.
