NASA has taken a significant step toward establishing a permanent presence on the moon, awarding hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to four U.S. companies for the development of lunar infrastructure. The contracts, announced Tuesday, are part of the agency’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon as early as 2028 and eventually pave the way for missions to Mars.
Private Sector to Play Key Role
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin will provide lunar landers designed to deliver moon buggies to the surface near the moon’s south pole. These lunar terrain vehicles will be built by Astrolab and Lunar Outpost. Firefly Aerospace, which successfully landed on the moon last year, will deliver the first drones to support operations on the lunar surface.
"We’ll be able to say, ‘Hey, we’re permanently here and we’re not giving it up,’" said NASA’s moon base program executive Carlos Garcia-Galan.
Phased Development
The Artemis III mission, targeted for mid-2027, will involve astronauts docking NASA’s Orion capsule with lunar landers developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX. The moon base’s second phase, beginning in 2029, will focus on building permanent infrastructure, including a power grid. The third phase, expected in the 2030s, will establish specialized habitats for extended astronaut stays.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasized the importance of respecting other nations’ lunar activities while fostering a lunar economy and conducting scientific research. "The grand return is close at hand and we will not slow down," Isaacman stated.