In 2026, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is returning to the Moon with a unique long-term initiative. The space agency is preparing to build a lunar base at the Moon’s South Pole. The project has a whopping $20 billion investment over seven years. It would mark a groundbreaking transition from periodic expeditions to a base camp on the moon’s surface.
The project will unfold in three phases. During phase one, NASA will focus on Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) deliveries and the LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) program. It will send “rovers, instruments, and technology demonstrations that advance mobility, power generation (including radioisotope heater units and radioisotope thermoelectric generators), communications, navigation, surface operations, and a wide range of scientific investigations.”
NASA announced ambitious long-range plans Tuesday to spend $20 billion over the next seven years to build a moon base near the lunar south pole featuring habitats, pressurized rovers and nuclear power systems. https://t.co/HxK70PY0Oo
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 24, 2026
In phase two, NASA will collect data from the early missions and develop semi-habitable infrastructure. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will support “recurring astronaut operations.” During phase three, NASA will “deliver heavier infrastructure needed for a continuous human foothold on the Moon.”
Shadowed craters, cosmic radiation, extreme cold, and dust particles—the lunar atmosphere poses a great threat to the mission. There is a reason why NASA chose the South Pole for the construction. Candidate sites are amid deep shadows and rough terrain, making navigation nearly impossible. While the South Pole has water ice deposits. It receives constant sunlight for power, making it perfect to host months-long human habitations.
According to NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya, their goal is to provide “a transition that builds a competitive commercial ecosystem rather than forcing a single outcome the market cannot support.”
”In our science missions, we are opening the lunar surface to researchers and students nationwide, and with Space Reactor‑1 Freedom, we are finally putting nuclear propulsion on a trajectory out of the laboratory and into deep space,” he added.
For enduring protection against radiation and micrometeorites, the habitat will be wrapped in shells made from lunar bricks. To make the bricks, the lunar soil will need to be heated at 2500° F. There is also a risk that the vehicles will not be able to move swiftly on the lunar surface, being immobilized during the two-week lunar nights. This is where nuclear power comes into play, providing continuous power.
NASA is cancelling plans to deploy a space station in lunar orbit and will instead use its components to construct a $20 billion base on the moon’s surface over the next seven years https://t.co/jmAV7EvNsv pic.twitter.com/JcodbBuXAq
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 24, 2026
The surface habitat will be three stories tall. It will combine a metal base with an inflatable top. The metallic portion is expected to be 13 ft. across and will house the ground floor airlock, EVA suits, and geology lab. Level two will house hygiene facilities, exercise equipment, and a biology lab. Level three has beds, a kitchen, a medical station lab, and a human research lab.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman shed more light on the three-phase program. Instead of an orbital outpost or spacecraft that can host a limited number of humans, NASA will use Gateway’s components to build the lunar base on the Moon’s surface.
He said, “NASA is committed to achieving the near‑impossible once again, to return to the Moon before the end of President Trump’s term, build a Moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space.”
However, building a base on the moon’s surface also means that NASA will have to prepare everything from scratch. Artemis II is scheduled to be launched in April 2026 with astronauts aboard. It is NASA’s first crewed mission under the Artemis program and will take four astronauts on a 10-day flyby beyond the Moon. The astronauts will be equipped with technology to test critical systems.
Artemis III is scheduled to launch in 2027 or 2028 and will mark the landing on the Moon’s south pole. The construction for the lunar base will begin in the late 2020s and will CONTINUE through the 2030s.
