As NASA eyes lunar base, there’s still much learn about landing on the Moon

NASA has set its sights on an ambitious plan to land on the Moon up to 21 times in the next two and a half years. Achieving this goal demands a significant transformation in how the agency procures lunar landers and a concerted effort to address the numerous challenges that have hindered three of the last four U.S. landing attempts. To succeed, NASA must enhance its oversight of the industrial base and improve the management of a supply chain that has often struggled with timely deliveries. These new landers are distinct from the Human Landing System program, which includes contracts with SpaceX and Blue Origin to produce human-rated landers for transporting crews as part of the Artemis program. In addition to crewed landings, numerous robotic and cargo missions are planned to deliver payloads that will help scout locations for a future lunar base. These missions will also showcase technologies essential for larger vehicles, resource mining, and sustaining operations during the two-week lunar night. Jacki Cortese, vice president of civil space at Blue Origin, emphasized that ensuring “frequent high-mass, low-cost access to the lunar surface” is a top priority for the early phases of the Moon base initiative. This emphasis aligns with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman's vision from March, which outlined a strategic pivot toward establishing a lunar outpost instead of a mini-space station orbiting far above the Moon. The groundwork for these high-frequency lunar missions is already taking shape through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which was unveiled eight years ago. This initiative has successfully assembled a roster of commercial partners dedicated to designing and constructing robotic lunar landers. Since 2019, NASA has contracted with U.S. companies for 13 missions under the CLPS program, with four already launched, although only one has successfully completed a landing. Currently, four additional commercial landers are under construction, slated for launches in the latter half of this year. However, delays are common in the space sector, and it's likely that some of these missions will extend into 2027.