Since Jared Isaacman took over as NASA administrator, one of the topics he has
talked about regularly is not just returning to the Moon, and beating China to
this little goal, but creating a sustained presence on the Moon; more like
colonizing than visiting to say we left footprints. He began talking publicly
about creating a base on the Moon. “For those waiting patiently, the
grand return is close at hand, and we will not slow down,” he said.
Today,
the talk was elevated to a presentation.
NASA officials
announced contract awards
for the initial elements of a lunar base on Tuesday, including two rovers
that will provide mobility to astronauts.
...
The manager for the lunar base, Carlos Garcia-Galan, said the space agency
had selected two companies, Astrolab and Lunar Outpost, to build
approximately one-ton rovers that would be ready for delivery to the Moon in
2028. Astrolab will receive $219 million for its “CLV-1” rover, and Lunar
Outpost $220 million for its “Pegasus” rover, building upon initial
contracts
awarded two years ago. Each rover is expected to have a range of 200 km and be capable of
driving autonomously, with guidance from operators on Earth, in addition to
being driven by astronauts.
From left to right: Models of the Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 1 lander,
Astrolab Crewed Lunar Rover, Lunar Outpost Pegasus rover and Firely's Elytra
Dark orbiter are unveiled at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. on May 26,
2026. (Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Garcia-Galan announced that Blue Origin has been contracted to deliver
the two rovers to the Moon using their Blue Moon Mark I lander, presumably on
separate flights. The two delivery contract awards were said to be worth
$280.4 million.
An important point is that despite the Apollo Program and six landings, we
have much to learn about what the Moon's surface is really like. As Isaacman
put it, “we know so little from what is a combined 80 hours of lunar astronaut
EVA time across the Apollo missions, and that was more than a half century
ago.”
To that end, one of the central elements of the early Moon Base program is
the development of the
MoonFall program,
which will entail three or four drones each about 1 meter tall, with a mass
of 225 kg, including propellant. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is leading
development of the MoonFall drones, and these will be delivered to the lunar
surface by Firefly Aerospace, Garcia-Galan said.
The goal is to get these spacecraft to the Moon before the Artemis IV lunar
landing mission, scheduled for no earlier than 2028, to provide
high-resolution imagery of the lunar surface. For most of the Moon, the
current imagery resolution is 1 meter, and NASA wants to improve it to 1 cm,
Garcia-Galan said.
The MoonFall drones will be deployed for long missions, and their ability to
stay longer on the moon and work through the hostile environment will enable
them to scout for water (perhaps as ice), provide data on soil mechanics,
lighting conditions, and the terrain. Not requiring food, air and a narrow
temperature range makes them better suited for a task like this than
astronauts. At the end of their flying lifetime, the drones could then be used
to set a boundary for the Moon Base.
“We’re hoping to … establish a Moon Base perimeter with four or three lunar
drones,” Garcia-Galan said. “We’re going to be able to basically put them at
the corners of the areas where we think we have either key scientific
objectives, or we want to build up the Moon Base.” In these positions, he
added, the retired drones could also provide a beacon with retro-reflectors,
or even perhaps serve as the first lunar cell towers.
This NASA chart outlines the three major steps of NASA's Moon Base program
from 2026 through 2032, starting with unpressurized rovers and sorties, and
ending with a permanent lunar base. (Image credit: NASA)
This raises problems with the concept of private property and claiming an area
on the Moon, due to a small treaty signed in 1967 called the Outer Space
Treaty. The treaty essentially says no country can claim sovereignty over
territory on the Moon. Even building a base on the lunar surface does not
confer ownership of that area under the treaty. But the Outer Space Treaty
isn't the only set of agreements that might have to be lived by. You've very
likely heard the term "Artemis Accords" but know little to nothing about
what's in the Accords. At least that's my summary.
The Artemis Accords, while recognizing the Outer Space Treaty, allow for the
possibility of creating “safety zones” that would establish areas in which
“harmful interference” is not allowed. “A safety zone should be the area in
which nominal operations of a relevant activity or an anomalous event could
reasonably cause harmful interference,” the Artemis Accords state. NASA and
China have not formally discussed or mutually approved the concept of safety
zones, and some Chinese commentators
have been critical
of the idea.
Chinese commentators are critical of ideas that may allow American missions to
mine or otherwise get resources from the Moon? This is my shocked face.
Establishing a perimeter would seem to be the first manifestation of a
safety zone on the lunar surface, although Isaacman would not confirm
this when asked directly.
“There are areas of great interest on the lunar surface, and we do want to
get there and explore them,” he said. “We also obviously want to be very
mindful of the Outer Space Treaty, so that we are respectful of other
nations that are putting assets on the lunar surface. We would expect that
to be reciprocal, but I think that’s just one objective of many that the
MoonFall drones intend to accomplish.”
