ORLANDO, Fla. – NASA and its commercial partners are building dozens of landers, rovers and scientific probes to identify a location for a future lunar base near the moon’s south pole.Â
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The effort is part of the agency’s long-term Artemis program to establish a sustained human presence on the lunar surface.
NASA outlines progress on lunar objectives
Dig deeper:
NASA and its commercial partners are making progress on a series of robotic lunar missions that will help lay the foundation for a permanent moon base near the lunar south pole. The agency said more than 20 robotic landings are planned through 2029 to test technologies, deliver scientific payloads and begin assembling infrastructure needed for future human missions.
NASA said companies including Blue Origin, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, Voyager Technologies and Northrop Grumman are developing landers, rovers and other technologies to support the effort. Commercial Lunar Payload Services missions will be used to build a reliable supply chain and validate systems before astronauts return to the moon.
Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK1 lander is undergoing final testing ahead of its first lunar mission, while Firefly Aerospace is preparing its Blue Ghost Mission 2 for what would be the first American landing on the moon’s far side. Intuitive Machines is advancing its IM-3 mission and a lunar communications satellite, Voyager Technologies is preparing its Griffin-1 lander for a planned late-2026 launch, and Northrop Grumman is developing surface power and avionics technologies adapted from NASA’s Gateway program.
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NASA said the robotic missions will characterize the lunar environment, test new technologies and support long-term goals of establishing a sustained human and robotic presence on the moon.
What they’re saying:
NASA plans to accelerate the program beginning next year, with upcoming Artemis missions testing new lunar landing systems in low Earth orbit before astronauts return to the moon.
“We’ll be testing one, maybe two landers as we look forward to understanding those dynamics and those lessons learned as we prepare to put people on the surface of the moon,” said Joel Montalbano, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for human spaceflight.
What’s next:
Phase one of NASA’s moon base architecture plan is underway and is expected to continue through 2029.
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