NASA outlines Moon Base plans, pivots on Gateway

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In a major shift announced during its “Ignition” event this week, NASA unveiled a detailed roadmap for establishing the first sustained crewed outpost on the lunar surface.

The plan effectively pauses the long-planned Lunar Gateway orbiting station and redirects its resources toward infrastructure that supports long-term presence on the Moon itself.

The announcement marks a significant departure from previous Artemis program architecture.

The expansive plan provided some context on the status of the Lunar Gateway station, which was already assumed to be no longer viable in its previous format.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasized that the agency is not surprised by the change: “It should not surprise anyone that we are pausing Gateway in its current form and focusing on infrastructure that supports sustained operations on the lunar surface.”

Officials repeatedly stressed that Gateway is not being canceled outright but “paused,” with its resources “repurposed.”

The three most advanced modules—the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), and the International Habitation Module (I-Hab)—face uncertain futures.

The PPE is being reallocated to support a new Space Reactor-1 Freedom mission concept aimed at Mars.

HALO, which recently arrived in the United States for final outfitting after shipment from Italy, and the I-Hab, still under construction at Thales Alenia Space in Italy, may see their components redirected to the surface base.

A future lunar orbiting station remains theoretically possible, but officials indicated it is unlikely to resemble the original Gateway design.

Major Reallocation and International Call to Action:

NASA is shifting the bulk of Gateway-related resources, personnel, and funding to the new Moon Base program. Notably, Deputy Manager of the Gateway Program Carlos Garcia-Galan has been named Program Executive for the Moon Base effort.

The agency is framing the initiative as a national priority, launching dedicated social media accounts for the Moon Base and urging international partners to join the pivot from orbital to surface operations.

The long-term vision calls for a semi-permanent, expandable outpost at the lunar south pole, featuring habitats, rovers, power systems, landers, and supporting infrastructure.

Recognizing that such a complex goal cannot be achieved immediately, NASA has structured the effort into three distinct phases spanning the next decade, with a total investment of at least $30 billion across the periods.

Phase 1 (Through 2028): Reliable Access and Technology Demonstrations:

The first phase focuses on securing frequent, reliable access to the lunar surface through up to 21 uncrewed landings via NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, plus one crewed landing during the initial human Moon Base mission.

CLPS landers will be tasked with delivering up to 4 metric tons of payload, including Lunar Terrain Vehicles (LTVs) limited to 500 kg maximum mass and capable of navigating slopes up to 20 degrees.

Phase 1 will also demonstrate “Moon Drones”—propulsive hoppers (not atmospheric quadcopters) able to cover up to 50 kilometers through multiple hops for surveying difficult terrain and capturing imagery.

To survive the harsh 14-day lunar night, the phase includes radioisotope heater units (using plutonium-238 or advanced alternatives) to keep equipment operational in extreme cold and darkness. Two lunar communication satellite constellations will be deployed to provide at least 500 megabits per second of bandwidth between the Moon and Earth—nearly double the average U.S. home internet speed.

This foundational phase is backed by a $10 billion investment and is already underway.

Phase 2 (2029–2032): Initial Infrastructure and Semi-Annual Crewed Missions:

Beginning in 2029, Phase 2 will secure initial landing sites, establish basic lunar infrastructure, and uprate CLPS landers to deliver five metric tons per mission, for a total of 60 tons of cargo. New technology demonstrations will pave the way for permanence, supported by semi-annual crewed missions.

Japan’s JAXA will contribute a pressurized rover functioning as a mobile habitat for two crew members, enabling extended operations and moonwalks.

Surface solar arrays, radioisotope thermal generators providing hundreds of watts day and night, and lunar communications towers will be deployed for robust surface-to-orbit and surface-to-surface links. Second-generation Lunar Terrain Vehicles will also debut.

The four-year phase carries another $10 billion investment.

Phase 3 (2033–2036): Long-Duration Exploration and Self-Sufficiency:

From 2033, the program enters its most ambitious stage, emphasizing long-duration and long-distance human exploration on the surface. CLPS landers will be further uprated to eight metric tons capacity, delivering 150 tons of total payload alongside routine logistics.

Initial uncrewed cargo return capabilities—first tested in Phase 2—will scale to 500 kg of upmass, enabling the return of scientific samples, hardware, and, eventually, lunar rocks to excite future generations.

Multiple habitats will provide advanced environmental control, life support, expanded science facilities, and greater Earth-independent operations.

In-situ resource utilization (ISRU) will ramp up significantly, extracting oxygen and hydrogen from lunar regolith to produce water and potentially hydrolox propellant, while regolith will be processed into building materials for on-site construction.

Roughly eight tons of cargo, consumables, and other supplies will be needed to support a crew of four for 28 days. Phase 3, spanning another four years, is budgeted at a minimum of $10 billion, with officials acknowledging that costs could rise. The Moon Base program is explicitly framed as ongoing beyond 2036.

Transportation Shift: Moving Beyond SLS:

Delivering crews and cargo to enable this vision requires major changes in lunar transportation. NASA is “standardizing” the Space Launch System (SLS) architecture through Artemis V by swapping Boeing’s planned Exploration Upper Stage for the flight-proven United Launch Alliance Centaur V.
For Artemis VI and beyond, the agency is transitioning away from government-led SLS operations toward a commercially sustained lunar transportation ecosystem. NASA has released a Request for Information seeking “no fewer than two launch providers” to achieve a crewed landing every six months and opening opportunities for new entrants.

“Beginning with Artemis VI, NASA will transition… with additional opportunities for new entrants in the years ahead,” said Lori Glaze, Acting Associate Administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.

Potential contributors could include existing heavy-lift vehicles such as Falcon Heavy, Vulcan, New Glenn, Terran R, or even Starship, alongside current SLS contractors—Boeing (core stage), Northrop Grumman (boosters), ULA (upper stage), Airbus (European Service Module), and Lockheed Martin (Orion capsule).

Lockheed Martin has already expressed interest in commercial Orion flights, and officials noted that prime contractors could evolve to deliver full commercial systems.
While many elements remain conceptual—rendered in presentations rather than hardware—NASA points to concrete early actions: multiple Requests for Information issued, ongoing CLPS task orders, and the fact that Phase 1 is technically already in progress. This represents the most detailed and actionable Moon Base plan NASA has ever put forward.

Whether this ambitious pivot delivers sustained human presence on the Moon by the mid-2030s will depend on execution, funding stability, and the performance of commercial partners.

For now, the message from NASA is clear: the era of lunar orbit focus is ending, and the surface era is beginning.

Lead image render: NASA

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