NASA To Spend Nearly $1 Billion in Gear-up Phase of ‘Moon Base’ Mega Project

NASA has begun to order the nearly $1 billion in equipment necessary for the first of its three-phase plan to build the first manned base on the moon — including Astrolab’s FLIP lunar vehicle, a crewed rover designed to transport astronauts, carry supplies, and support remote operations on the lunar surface.Future plans include a moon rover that astronauts can live in for weeks at a time and a miniature nuclear reactor to provide sustained power.The agency’s administrator, Jared Isaacman, says the “Golden Age” of lunar exploration has begun.” “We are building the Moon Base for all we will learn, the innovation that will improve life on Earth, the inspiration for the next generation of explorers, and to master the skills needed for where we will inevitably go next . . . Mars,” Mr. Isaacman said in an X post.The space agency plans to build the lunar outpost — simply called Moon Base — near the south pole over the next decade. It will start the project with a rapid series of robotic missions to scout the polar region, test technologies, and prepare for surface operations. That first phase will have up to 25 missions with 21 lunar landings.Details on the space-base missions come about two months after four Artemis II astronauts took part in the first human lunar fly-around in more than 50 years. NASA’s aim is to land astronauts on the surface of the moon within two years.The agency says three Moon Base missions will begin as early as this fall, using the Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander to deliver NASA payloads: cameras and other equipment to help orbiting spacecraft determine precise locations on the lunar surface using reflected laser light. Another mission planned for this year will deliver more than 1,100 pounds of cargo — including a moon rover — on Astrobotic’s Griffin lander.Crewed and autonomous rovers will be tested for mobility and be used to prepare the surface for construction. Four drones known as MoonFall and communications relay and observation satellites will also be deployed. The goal will be to demonstrate power, navigation, communications, and nuclear technologies. Four tons of payload are planned to be delivered to test what works on the lunar surface.The second phase is set to begin by 2029, with NASA transitioning to assembling semi-permanent infrastructure and getting things ready for the eventual human inhabitants of the base. A pressurized rover nicknamed “Lunar Cruiser”, supplied by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is expected to be deployed on the moon during the second phase. It will serve as both a mobile habitat and a laboratory for crews to explore and carry out experiments far from the landing sites for up to 30 days at a time.The rovers — co-designed by Toyota — are expected to have a 10-year lifespan, be able to traverse slopes up to 15 degrees, and reach speeds of up to 2 miles per hour.The base itself will be constructed during the overall mission’s third phase, set to begin in 2032. That phase hinges on deploying operational fission-based power systems capable of delivering steady, reliable energy. NASA and the Department of Energy have been working for years to develop fission surface power systems and hope to have one ready to launch within the decade. NASA launched its first test nuclear space reactor in the 1950s but does not have one capable of high energy or long-term use yet. NASA, last year, solicited proposals to build a 100 kilowatt nuclear reactor to send to the moon. NASA plans a June announcement to name the four astronauts for the Artemis III mission. The crew will test critical rendezvous and docking capabilities between an Orion spacecraft and commercial human landing systems needed to bring astronauts to the lunar surface.

NASA To Spend Nearly $1 Billion in Gear-up Phase of ‘Moon Base’ Mega Project

NASA To Spend Nearly $1 Billion in Gear-up Phase of ‘Moon Base’ Mega Project

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