The plan is called Moon Base, and NASA formally unveiled it at its “Ignition” event on March 24, 2026.
A follow-up news conference is scheduled for May 26 with Administrator Jared Isaacman, acting exploration chief Lori Glaze, and Moon Base program executive Carlos García-Galán.
Permanently shadowed craters there hold water ice that can be turned into drinking water, breathable oxygen, and rocket propellant.
Science (lunar geology, water ice, radiation research) and Mars.
NASA is treating the moon as the proving ground for the life support, power, and habitat tech that a crewed Mars mission will eventually need.
The plan is called Moon Base, and NASA formally unveiled it at its “Ignition” event on March 24, 2026. A follow-up news conference is scheduled for May 26 with Administrator Jared Isaacman, acting exploration chief Lori Glaze, and Moon Base program executive Carlos García-Galán.
Where is it going? The lunar South Pole. Permanently shadowed craters there hold water ice that can be turned into drinking water, breathable oxygen, and rocket propellant. Nearby peaks get near-constant sunlight, which solves the power problem.
How much will it cost? Roughly $20 billion over the next 7 years, potentially scaling to $30 billion per decade. The program covers about 79 launches, 73 landings, rovers, habitats, and a nuclear reactor in later phases.
When do humans actually land? NASA is targeting the first crewed landing by 2028. Crew rotations every 6 months start around 2029 to 2032. Continuous human presence is the goal by 2036.
Who’s building it? NASA is leading, but the heavy lifting goes to commercial partners like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Intuitive Machines, Firefly, Astrobotic, and ICON (which is 3D-printing landing pads and habitats from lunar regolith). Japan is supplying a pressurized rover, Italy is building habitat modules, and Canada is contributing a lunar utility vehicle.
Why bother? Two reasons. Science (lunar geology, water ice, radiation research) and Mars. NASA is treating the moon as the proving ground for the life support, power, and habitat tech that a crewed Mars mission will eventually need.
Isaacman’s pitch, in his own words: “America will never again give up the Moon.”
