NASA Outlines Plans for Multi-Mission Lunar South Pole Outpost Using Commercial Landers

NASA plans to build a moon base at the lunar south pole covering hundreds of square miles, an area comparable to Austin, Texas at just over 326 square miles. NASA moon base Program Executive Carlos Garcia-Galan announced the scale during a May 26 press conference. Habitation modules will sit on elevated terrain to maximize sunlight for solar power.

A nuclear power plant will require a one-kilometer exclusion zone for radiation safety. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 bars national sovereignty claims on the moon under Article 1 and prohibits interference with other parties' activities under Article IX. Section II of the Artemis Accords permits safety zones around facilities.

China and Russia are not parties to the Artemis Accords. NASA announced three uncrewed expeditions—Moon Base 1, Moon Base 2, and Moon Base 3—to reach the site before the end of 2026. The missions will use a Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 1, an Astrobotic Griffin carrying the FLIP rover, and an Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander.

Astrolab and Lunar Outpost will supply lunar terrain vehicles for crewed or autonomous operations. Firefly Aerospace will launch four drones from lunar orbit to scout the base area. On May 28 the Blue Origin New Glenn exploded during a hot fire test, destroying the vehicle and damaging its sole configured launch pad.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and a group of agency engineers flew immediately to the Kennedy Space Center to review options with Blue Origin. Blue Origin CEO David Limp stated that the company expects a return to flight by the end of this calendar year after examining pad damage and launch-vehicle availability.

Some outside experts, mainly at SpaceX, have questioned whether that schedule is realistic.

Mark R. ", has written on the policy implications of returning to the lunar surface.