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Moon Base

The Moon Base is humanity’s first lunar outpost, a place where astronauts will live, work, and explore near the Moon’s South Pole. Through a series of crewed and uncrewed missions, NASA and its partners will build the infrastructure needed to support an enduring human presence on the Moon, unlock new scientific discoveries, and prepare for future exploration of Mars.

NASA Awards More Moon Base Science, Previews New Opportunities

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the selection of three companies to land four new missions on the Moon in late 2028 as part of the agency’s Moon Base Program. Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace, and Intuitive Machines will deliver NASA science payloads to the lunar surface as the agency builds the first outpost on another celestial world.

Read the Release about NASA Awards More Moon Base Science, Previews New Opportunities

The Challenge of the Lunar South Pole

The Moon Base will be built in one of the most extreme environments humans have ever explored.

NASA chose the lunar South Pole because it offers unparalleled opportunities for scientific discovery and long-term exploration. But the region’s extreme temperatures, rugged landscape, and permanently shadowed craters will require new technologies and innovative solutions to overcome. Explore why NASA is taking on these obstacles—and how they will shape the future of lunar exploration.

This visualization flies toward and around the Moon’s South Pole as the surface transitions from natural color to coded elevation colors that highlight the region’s terrain and topography. Thirty features near the lunar South Pole are identified throughout the animation. Data gathered by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter informed the visualization.
NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio

CLPS Moon Missions, Mapped

Explore an interactive map of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) landing sites to see where commercial landers have touched down and where future missions are headed. From science investigations to technology demonstrations, discover how commercial deliveries are expanding exploration across the lunar surface and helping pave the way for Moon Base development.

Explore about CLPS Moon Missions, Mapped
clps 3d interactive

Exploring Earth’s Nearest Neighbor

Lunar exploration advances science and serves as a proving ground for future missions to Mars.

The Moon is the gateway to the solar system. A world equivalent to an entire continent that human feet have touched only a few times. As Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor, the Moon has profound potential to be a source of new scientific advances. It is also the best place for us to test our deep space systems and operations in preparation for the first human mission to another planet: Mars.

The Moon eclipsing the Sun, as seen from the Orion capsule. The dark gray sphere of the Moon is surrounded by a white glow, suspended in the blackness of space. The glow is diffuse, fading from a brighter white circle right around the Moon. Small dots of white light are scattered across the image.
Captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, this image shows the Moon fully eclipsing the Sun.
NASA
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