NASA’s Artemis II is about to take off and circle the moon, but that’s not the only thing soon heading for our natural satellite.
On March 24, 2026, NASA announced new initiatives to increase missions to the moon and establish a permanent base there. This new plan would change the Lunar Gateway mission, which would have created a space station that orbited the moon.
The new moon missions could help improve space travel and provide more information on how to construct a base on the lunar surface. The moon base, according to NASA, will be rolled out in three phases.
"On the moon, we are shifting to a focused, phased architecture that builds capability landing by landing, incrementally, and in alignment with our industrial and international partners,” said Amit Kshatriya, NASA associate administrator, in a press statement.
Read More: How Artificial Moon Dust Helps Us to Build the First Long-Term Lunar Bases
Advancing Moon Missions
The Artemis missions were initially intended to return humans to the moon, with the next phase being crewed missions to Mars. Some of the missions were intended to deliver and install parts of the Lunar Gateway, a lunar space station. But now, NASA is shifting gears.
According to Reuters, NASA is pausing its plans for the Lunar Gateway and will instead use many of the mission's components to build a base on the moon. The base could cost around $20 billion and be constructed over the next seven years.
Explore All OptionsShifting all of the components front the Lunar Gateway will take some time, but according to NASA, they will repurpose what they can to get the base’s construction underway. Currently, the plan is to roll out the moon base in three phases.
Phases of the Moon Base
According to NASA, the first phase of building the moon base will begin with an increase in missions to the moon. Through programs like the Lunar Terrain Vehicle program (LVT), and Commercial Lunar Payload System (CLPS) — a system that delivers certain payloads to the moon and Earth’s orbit — scientists can begin conducting more research and lay the groundwork for the base.
Equipment such as rovers, generators — both radioisotope heater units and radioisotope thermoelectric generators — and other scientific instruments will enhance mobility and power generation, improving communications and surface operations, according to NASA.
For phase two, NASA scientists will apply what they’ve learned from phase one to create semi-habitable infrastructure and other logistical support. During this phase, there will be recurring astronaut missions on the lunar surface, and contributions from other agencies such as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
As phase two finishes and the infrastructure is put in place, NASA will roll out phase three of the moon base construction. During this phase, NASA will have installed a cargo-capable human landing system (HLS) and will begin sending heavier resources and infrastructure items to the moon.
These resources will then help shift the periodic missions and temporary structures into the permanent lunar base. Phase three will include resources from other agencies as well, including the Italian Space Agency’s (ISA) Multi-purpose Habitats (MPH) and the Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) Lunar Utility Vehicles.
Increased Flights to the Moon
As the Artemis missions continue, NASA is working to standardize the Space Launch System (SLS). The agency has also added an additional moon mission for 2027 and plans to launch moon-landing missions at least once a year after that.
The agency is also looking into additional reusable hardware to enable more frequent and more affordable crewed missions to the moon. Once these changes are solidified, NASA hopes to send a crewed mission to the moon’s surface every six months.
Read More: Establishing a Moon Time Zone Could Benefit Future Missions to Mars
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- This article references information from NASA: NASA Unveils Initiatives to Achieve America’s National Space Policy
- This article references information from Reuters: NASA plans moon base, nuclear spacecraft in multibillion-dollar moon program expansion
