NASA to build 'moon base' which could host astronauts for months - before setting sights on Mars landing
The lunar neighbourhood could be up and running in the next five to seven years and will act as a base for the exploration of deep space
NASA is developing plans for a permanent base on the moon with water and electricity where astronauts could live for months at a time.
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NASA stepped up work creating permanent settlement on the moon following the success of the Artemis II mission in April.
The lunar base would act as both a hub for research and a launchpad for future missions into deep space - including serving as a base for human trips to Mars.
Officials explained the relative proximity of the moon to Earth meant it was a perfect place to test key technologies needed to explore other planets, including habitat durability, energy generation and supporting life long-term.
The agency is working with the European Space Agency (ESA) and other global allies to develop the cosmic neighbourhood, which could be up and running in between five and seven years time.
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Eventually, astronauts could live there for months at a time, much longer than previous lunar programmes which lasted just a few days.
To begin with, autonomous rovers and automated systems will assess the terrain, set up initial infrastructure and test environmental conditions.
The first phase of construction will be focused on putting in place the core essentials needed for survival: power grids, water and waste recycling systems and heavy shields to protect against radiation from the Sun.
Once the infrastructure is stable, NASA will despatch crewed missions on a semi-annual basis to support the base which will gradually increase in length and complexity.
The base aims to overcome the greatest hurdle to further space exploration; the logistics of firing copious amounts of water, air and rocket fuel out of the Earth's heavy gravity.
Large amounts of ice located within the craters in the Moon's polar regions hold the key to ensuring the moon base remains sustainable.
That ice will be turned into drinking water, split into oxygen and converted into hydrogen liquid to serve as rocket fuel.
Utilising resources already on the Moon means NASA will be able to make space exploration less dependant on Earth's supply chains, paving the way for a self-sufficient space economy.
Developing a lunar base will act act as the perfect testing ground before a future human mission to Mars. If anything goes wrong on the Moon, such as an energy grid malfunctioning or life-support systems failing, help is only a few days away. By contrast, a round-trip journey to Mars takes months so crews would need to be fully autonomous.
If NASA can master systems such as protecting habitats from solar radiation and closed-loop recycling on the Moon, it will equip engineers with the experience required to keep humans alive on Mars.
It follows the record-breaking Artemis II mission in April, which saw the crew of four embark on the first manned Moon mission in more than 50 years.
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen travelled 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometres) from Earth.