NASA Will Build A Base Camp On the Moon

WASHINGTON — NASA said yesterday that it will establish an international base camp on one of the moon's poles, permanently staffing it by 2024, four years after astronauts return to the moon. It is a sweeping departure from the Apollo moon missions of the 1960s and represents a new phase of space exploration after space shuttles are retired in 2010.

After consulting more than 1,000 experts from 14 different countries, NASA decided on what deputy NASA chief Shana Dale called a "fundamental lunar approach" that is sharply different from its previous moon missions in nearly everything but the shape of the ship going there.

NASA chose a "lunar outpost" over the short expeditions of the 1960s. Apollo flights were all around the center of the moon, but NASA decided to go to the moon's poles because they are best for longer-term settlements. Now, NASA is welcoming other nations on its journey.