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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 lunar surface while advancing science, technology, and exploration for the benefit of all.

Moon Base 101

Step into the future of lunar exploration with this episode of “Houston We Have a Podcast,” the official podcast of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. In a conversation with NASA Moon Base Program Manager Carlos García-Galán, learn how the Moon Base will take shape over time, the capabilities and partnerships that will help enable an enduring human presence on the lunar surface, and the progress already underway to turn that vision into reality.

Listen to the Podcast about Moon Base 101
Artist's rendering of an astronaut looking through a habitat window as a lunar lander descends toward the Moon's surface, kicking up clouds of lunar dust. Earth appears low on the horizon against the blackness of space.

Why the Lunar South Pole region?

The Moon Base will be built in one of the most extreme environments humans have ever set out to explore.

The lunar South Pole region offers unique opportunities for exploration, scientific discovery, and a long-term human presence. The region may contain resources that could one day help support future explorers. Studying this part of the Moon could also help scientists answer important questions about the history of the Moon, Earth, and our solar system.

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

Lunar Exploration

The Moon is a 4.5-billion-year-old time capsule.

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

Commercial 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 Commercial Moon Missions, Mapped
clps 3d interactive
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