NASA Unveils Ambitious Timeline to Build a Human Habitat on the Moon
Gizmodo • • general
Key Points:
- NASA announced contracts with four companies to develop rovers, landers, and drones to build infrastructure for a permanent lunar base, with initial missions launching as soon as this year.
- Upcoming missions include Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander and Astrobotic’s Griffin lander delivering cargo and instruments to study the lunar surface and mitigate risks like lunar dust.
- NASA awarded Astrolab and Lunar Outpost contracts to develop simplified lunar terrain vehicles (LTVs) designed for autonomous and astronaut-driven operation on the Moon.
- The MoonFall program will deploy four drones to explore hard-to-reach lunar areas, with Firefly Aerospace building the transport spacecraft and a targeted launch in 2028.
- NASA aims to establish semi-habitable infrastructure by 2032 and build long-duration habitats by 2036, accelerating the Artemis program with planned astronaut landings in 2028, contingent on commercial partner readiness.