The United States has announced a "three-phase roadmap" for building a lunar base, set to begin this fall, with the goal of "permanent residence."

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On May 27, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency, NASA officially released its lunar base construction plan, starting with three unmanned robotic missions and gradually advancing toward the goal of building a long-term human residence facility at the lunar south pole.

(Source: CCTV News)

According to the latest report from Forbes, NASA held a launch event at its Washington headquarters on Tuesday (May 26), announcing the first three phases of the lunar base construction mission and a series of commercial contracts. Among them, Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, was selected to undertake the first lunar base mission, with a contract worth $188 million and optional task orders valued at $280.4 million.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated at the event, the lunar base will be "the first outpost for America and humanity on another celestial body," and the mission aims to acquire the skills needed to survive and operate in extreme environments.

This announcement marks NASA's shift of the Artemis program’s focus from single moon landings to establishing a permanent presence at the lunar south pole.

At the same time, NASA also announced the cancellation of the planned Gateway lunar orbital space station and has invested over $439 million in lunar rover development contracts. According to Forbes, NASA has also revealed a nuclear-powered spacecraft project for Mars.

Blue Origin awarded first lunar base mission contract; SpaceX’s role under scrutiny

In this announcement, Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander was selected for the "Lunar Base I" mission, with the target launch date no earlier than fall 2026. This is the first official mission in NASA's lunar base program.

According to the contract, Blue Origin will receive a base contract of $188 million, with an additional $280.4 million in optional orders. Forbes reports the Endurance lander has recently completed relevant tests with NASA.

Forbes noted that Blue Origin’s status in NASA’s Artemis program continues to rise, and this trend may in some respects affect SpaceX’s related role.

Three-phase missions each have specific focuses, all are unmanned robotic missions

All three of NASA's initial lunar base missions are unmanned robotic missions, designed to reduce operational risks, test key technologies, and prepare for later long-term astronaut stays on the lunar surface.

Lunar Base I: Planned for launch in fall 2026, the Endurance lander from Blue Origin will deliver scientific instruments to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge near the lunar south pole. The mission will test landing systems, study interactions between the spacecraft's thrusters and lunar dust, and carry a laser retroreflector array to assist precise orbital positioning.
Lunar Base II: Also targets launch later this year, executed by the Griffin lander from Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic. It will deliver more than 1100 lbs of cargo to the lunar surface, including Astrolab’s FLIP lunar rover to verify future crewed lunar rover mobility systems.
Lunar Base III: Will carry the “Lunar Vertex” research equipment, transported by Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Trinity lander, to study bright swirls on the lunar surface linked to magnetic fields and space weathering, and will also deliver payloads for the European Space Agency and Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute.

Lunar rover development secures over $439 million in contracts

NASA simultaneously announced major investments in the next-generation lunar terrain vehicle, awarding contracts worth over $439 million to two companies.

Hawthorne, California-based Astrolab received a $219 million contract to develop the CLV-1 crewed lunar vehicle, based on its FLEX architecture, capable of transporting astronauts and supplies, and supporting remote operations over complex terrain.

Golden, Colorado-based Lunar Outpost received a $220 million contract to develop the Pegasus lunar rover, which is lighter and supports autonomous, manual, or remote driving modes.

"Hopping drones" and more missions to be announced

NASA also unveiled the latest progress on the MoonFall mission. This mission plans to deploy four autonomous drones on the lunar surface, moving by hopping near the south pole to capture high-resolution topographical images and provide data for Artemis landing site selection.

MoonFall is being developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with spacecraft support from Firefly Aerospace, which received a $75 million subcontract. The target launch date is 2028. After the drones' final flights, their scientific payloads are expected to continue operating for several months.

NASA officials stated that more than ten additional lunar base missions are expected to be announced later this year, in coordination with the 2028 Artemis crewed lunar landing schedule.

In this announcement, NASA declared it was abandoning the Gateway space station project from the original Artemis plan. This station was initially planned as a transfer platform for astronauts descending to the lunar surface as well as the first international space station orbiting the moon, but it will no longer be pursued.

At the same time, NASA announced plans to build and launch the nuclear-powered spacecraft "Space Reactor-1 Freedom" to Mars before 2028 to validate nuclear propulsion technology.

NASA sees this technology as key to future deep space exploration, with the potential to increase the speed and efficiency of missions beyond Jupiter.

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