NASA Moon – NASA says its Moon Base initiative will begin with a run of uncrewed missions starting in 2026, beginning with Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lunar lander. The program calls for landers, rovers and new drone surveys to set up astronauts to live and work on the lunar
The first step in NASA’s long-dreamed return to a permanent presence on the moon is already scheduled to leave Earth—and it points to one company’s rocket lander being ready before humans do.
On May 26. NASA outlined the first phase of its Moon Base initiative. a plan designed to send vehicles. cargo and infrastructure to the lunar surface months and years before astronauts step onto the moon again for the first time in more than 50 years. The timeline is being built in the wake of Artemis II. which sent four astronauts on a historic lunar journey less than two months earlier.
“This is America’s and humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world. ” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. “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’s Moon Base effort is also framed as part of a broader push toward deeper space, with the agency now setting its sights on sending astronauts to Mars.
NASA leaders have previously said the eventual goal is a $20 billion moon base aimed at the largely unexplored lunar south pole. The base is planned to come together across three phases spanning both uncrewed and crewed missions. with the purpose of delivering the vehicles. equipment and infrastructure needed for astronauts to live and work long term. NASA says the base would support study of the moon while also helping the agency learn how to send the first humans to Mars.
The construction work is set to begin with three uncrewed missions planned for 2026, unveiled by NASA on May 26.
The first is expected to launch in fall with the planned launch of the Blue Moon lunar lander being developed by billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin spaceflight company. NASA said the Mark 1 variant—distinct from the Mark 2 variant because it is not designed for humans—will carry NASA equipment while targeting a landing on the Shackleton Connecting Ridge. NASA said the lunar region can receive solar power from sunlight and remains in constant view of Earth. supporting uninterrupted communications.
Two more landers are also scheduled for 2026: Astrobotic’s Griffin lander and Intuitive Machines’ third Nova-C lunar lander. NASA said Griffin will carry a rover to begin testing travel on the lunar terrain. The agency described the 2026 missions as the first of more than a dozen missions that will be announced this year. each intended to generate operational data and reduce risk ahead of crewed Artemis surface activities.
NASA’s plans for movement on the moon don’t stop with landers delivering hardware. The agency also announced that it has awarded contracts to two companies to develop lunar rovers for astronauts to drive.
Colorado-based Lunar Outpost and Astrolab of Hawthorne. California. will each receive about $220 million to build vehicles capable of slowly navigating the moon’s rough terrain. NASA said the contracts are being made under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative (CLPS). The goal. according to NASA. is that a rover will be ready on the moon before astronauts return as early as 2028 under the Artemis IV mission.
NASA said the rovers—referred to as lunar terrain vehicles, or LTVs—will be designed for different objectives. Astrolab’s compact vehicle is designed to carry astronauts and cargo with a weight limit of up to 2. 000 pounds and a top speed of 6 mph. Lunar Outpost’s rover, nicknamed Pegasus, is lighter and can travel about three mph faster.
NASA said the companies will have about 18 months to ready their landers for launch, and that Blue Origin was also awarded a contract worth up to $468 million to transport the rovers to the moon.
Before Artemis astronauts move onto the surface, NASA is planning to map where they should land. The agency said that in 2028 it intends to send a fleet of four drones to survey the moon for safe landing sites for astronauts.
The mission. called Moonfall. would use drones that “hop” from one surface location to the next to gather and transmit data back to Earth. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California is designing the drones and has awarded Texas-based Firefly Aerospace a $75 million contract to build the spacecraft that will transport them from Earth orbit to the moon. After launch. Firefly’s Elytra spacecraft will transport the drones to the moon and deploy them about 30 miles above the surface. the company said in a press release.
As the infrastructure roadmap advances, NASA is also moving toward the next crewed step in Artemis. The agency said it plans to soon announce the four astronauts selected for the Artemis III mission.
That announcement is set to be made live at 11 a.m. ET Tuesday, June 9, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, according to a press release.
In April. four astronauts traveled around the moon and back on the Artemis II mission without landing—an effort NASA described as a critical test of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion crew capsule central to the missions. Next. four more astronauts will travel to Earth orbit in 2027 on the Artemis III mission. which will test one or both commercial human lunar landers being developed by spaceflight companies SpaceX and Blue Origin.
NASA also said that, like the Artemis II crew, the Artemis III astronauts will hitch a ride to Earth orbit aboard the Orion crew capsule. The capsule will launch atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The order of NASA’s moves is the story running through the details: first. uncrewed missions meant to deliver equipment and operational data; then. rovers and drone surveying designed to make human landings safer and more sustainable; and only after that. astronauts—announced next week for Artemis III—preparing to live and work on the moon’s south pole as part of an effort that began in earnest with Artemis II’s return trip.
NASA moon base initiative Artemis Blue Origin Blue Moon lander Lunar Outpost Astrolab CLPS lunar rovers Moonfall drones Firefly Aerospace Artemis III astronauts Jeff Bezos Shackleton Connecting Ridge