NASA awards contracts for Moon Base I, II and III, Blue Origin to fly first mission
NASA on May 26, 2026 unveiled the first phase of its permanent lunar south pole base plan, with contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars going to four US companies, with the first privately financed Blue Origin Mk1 Endurance lander departing before year's end carrying European and Korean instruments.
NASA on May 26, 2026 unveiled in Washington the first phase of its plan for a permanent human presence at the Moon’s south pole. Contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars went to four US companies for the delivery of commercial landers, rovers and exploration drones.
The plan, which the administration describes as Moon Base I, II and III, is led by NASA together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Korean Astronomy and Space Science Institute, KASI. The goal is to launch the first two missions before the end of 2026, and the third during 2027. First in the sequence is Moon Base I, with the Mk1 Endurance lander from Blue Origin, the first privately financed lunar lander in history.
Moon Base I: landing site and payload
Moon Base I will touch down on Shackleton Connecting Ridge near the lunar south pole. The site was chosen for two reasons:
- near-continuous solar illumination, ensuring reliable power
- proximity to permanently shadowed craters where radar measurements suggest the presence of ice deposits
The mission’s main scientific payload is the Lunar Vertex instrument. It will study the lunar swirls, unusual brighter formations in the regolith that appear to be shielded from the solar wind. They have been a subject of debate among planetary geologists for decades.
In addition to the US instrument, Endurance will carry:
- European spectrometers for regolith analysis
- South Korean radiation detectors
This is the first time a single commercial mission directly integrates European and Asian science agencies.
How the tender model works
NASA chose a fixed-price contracting model. Each of the four contracted companies bears the risk of cost overruns. Alongside Blue Origin, the contractors are Lockheed Martin, Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic.
Similar logic was already used in the CLPS programme of commercial lunar deliveries. Between 2024 and 2026 that programme produced three successful and two failed landings, which the agency describes as an acceptable outcome for a development phase that learns through iterative attempts.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in his remarks:
Moon Base III represents the transition from attempted to operational mode, with instruments remaining active over longer periods rather than just a single lunar day.
What the plan does NOT yet confirm
While the contract pool is substantial, the plan does not include a date for the first astronaut landing under the Artemis programme. Artemis is a separate track from the Moon Base initiative.
Artemis 3, the first crewed landing on the lunar surface since 1972, depends on the SpaceX landing module. As of May 2026 the testing programme has reached only the twelfth flight of the Starship rocket, with partially successful outcome. NASA’s official document does not state whether the success or failure of the Moon Base missions directly affects the Artemis timeline.
On the technical side, an open question is how long the landers can survive the long lunar night. It lasts about 14 Earth days with temperatures dropping to minus 170 degrees Celsius. The Blue Origin Mk1 Endurance is designed for one lunar day as its primary operating period. Only later variants might carry heaters to enable night-time operation. Scientists on the Lunar Vertex team noted that the first hours after touchdown will be the most critical for collecting spectral data before conditions deteriorate.
The wider picture: who else is going to the Moon
The plan arrives as other agencies are also accelerating toward the Moon:
- China’s Chang’e 8 mission is scheduled for 2028, aiming to demonstrate construction using lunar regolith
- India’s ISRO has announced Chandrayaan-4 for sample return
- Japan’s JAXA, which successfully landed the SLIM module in 2024, is working on the joint LUPEX mission with India
In that international constellation, the choice of Shackleton Ridge for the first NASA missions increasingly looks like a strategic attempt by the United States to secure the most favourable sites ahead of competitors.
Which part of lunar science benefits most from these missions?
For researchers of Serbian origin working in planetary science, the most interesting outcome may be confirmation of water-ice deposits in quantities sufficient for future bases to rely on local resources. Let’s discuss: which area of lunar exploration matters most to you, infrastructure, geology, or preparation for astronauts? Share your view in the comments.
