Here's NASA's plan to build a lunar base: $20 billion, annual trips and collaboration with private companies
The space agency unveiled its roadmap for establishing "an enduring presence" on the Moon and launching the first nuclear-powered spacecraft.
NASA's Artemis II mission
We will return to the Moon. And we will stay. That's the new promise from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), which on Tuesday unveiled a new set of initiatives to "advance American leadership in space." The most ambitious: to build a permanent lunar base that would guarantee the U.S.’s presence on the natural satellite and allow it to make the leap to Mars.
But not only that, the roadmap includes plans to launch a nuclear-powered spacecraft, programs to boost the space economy... the keys to NASA's ambitious roadmap.
A lunar base in three steps
The space administration has moved away from isolated missions to a "phased architecture" approach. The goal is to move from short visits to continuous human settlement.
To this end, a lunar base will be erected in three phases over seven years. The estimated cost is $20 billion. The steps are:
1. Build, test and learn
In this initial stage, the agency will move from isolated missions to a repeatable, modular model. Using the CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) program, robots, instruments and the LTV (Lunar Land Vehicle) will be sent to test power generation and communications in the hostile lunar environment.
2. Early infrastructure
This is where the Moon will begin to feel inhabitable. With the help of international partners, semi-habitable infrastructure will be deployed. A key focus will be the pressurized rover from JAXA (Japan), which will allow astronauts to travel long distances without the need for constant spacesuits.
3. Long-term human presence
The final phase will mark the transition from periodic expeditions to a permanent lunar base. Thanks to high-capacity human landing systems (HLS), heavy infrastructure will be delivered, including:
- Multipurpose Habitats (MPH) from the Italian Space Agency (ASI).
- Lunar utility vehicles from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
"NASA is committed to achieving the near‑impossible once again, to return to the Moon before the end of President Trump’s term, build a Moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said.
"The clock is running in this great‑power competition, and success or failure will be measured in months, not years," he added.
Strategic changes: Goodbye to Gateway as we knew it
One of the surprises of the announcement was NASA's decision to pause the project to build a station in orbit of the moon, known as the Gateway station.
The goal is to divert those resources and efforts directly to infrastructure that will enable sustained operations on the lunar surface. The agency will reuse existing equipment so as not to lose technical momentum.
Under the new guideline, the Artemis program has been adjusted. That one aims to return man to the Moon. Its purpose was to launch several trips in preparation for the moon landing originally scheduled for 2028.
The next mission (called Artemis III) was rescheduled for 2027 as an in-orbit systems test, thereafter to make at least one lunar landing each year.
Beyond the Moon: Nuclear power in space
The agency noted that this type of propulsion has an "extraordinary" deep-space transportation capability. In addition, it makes it possible to reach where solar panels are no longer effective, beyond Jupiter.
The SR-1 Freedom is expected to reach Mars. There, the plan is for it to deploy a series of small autonomous helicopters known colloquially in the agency as Ginny, to explore the red planet.
Key points:
- Launch: before the end of 2028.
- Objective: demonstrate that nuclear power is the key to efficient travel to Mars and beyond Jupiter, where solar power is not sufficient.
- Mission on Mars: Upon arrival, it will release the Skyfall, a group of Ingenuity (Ginny)-type helicopters.
What will happen to the International Space Station (ISS)?
While looking to the Moon will put NASA's eye more than 380,000 kilometers from Earth, it also doesn't want to forget about its projects closer to home. 400 kilometers from Earth is the International Space Station (ISS), built with the collaboration of several countries after Ronald Reagan's approval.
Although he defined it as a "world‑class orbital laboratory," he maintained that it "cannot operate indefinitely." In order to maintain a U.S. presence in low-Earth orbit despite its withdrawal, NASA will seek the collaboration of the private sector.
This Tuesday it proposed adding a government-owned "Core Module" to the ISS. To this could be attached modules from private companies that would eventually be separated to fly independently. Thus, it seeks to mature the private space sector where NASA is just another customer.
As part of that objective, it will also seek collaborations with companies and philanthropists, and will open calls for subcontracting operations that were previously 100% governmental. It will also integrate in-house engineers into private subcontractor facilities to solve problems in real time and reduce bureaucracy.
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