Work has fast been underway between NASA and its commercial partners to turn its ambitious dream of a habitable lunar outpost into a reality.
After first unveiling plans for a venture it calls “moon base” in March, NASA leaders are about to provide the second major public update in as many months on the unprecedented undertaking. A news conference set for today (June 30) comes about a month after the last one at the end of May and a few weeks after the U.S. space agency unveiled the crew for the next mission under its Artemis program.
Those four astronauts are due in 2027 to launch from Florida and fly to Earth orbit in a critical mission testing docking capabilities with two commercial lunar landers. A follow-up to the historic Artemis II mission in April, Artemis III would precede the first human moon landing in more than half-a-century.
Ultimately, NASA aims for Artemis IV to be the first of many astronaut missions to the lunar south pole amid plans to construct a moon base where humans can live and work long term.
Here’s what to know about the moon base and how to watch NASA’s live coverage of the news conference.
What is NASA’s moon base?
NASA leaders have previously announced plans to construct a $20 billion moon base toward the largely unexplored lunar south pole. The base would come together across three phases during both uncrewed and crewed missions to deliver vehicles, equipment and infrastructure to the moon.
Once completed, the base would be where astronauts could live and work longterm with the dual objectives of studying the moon while also helping NASA learn how best to send the first humans to Mars.
NASA to provide update on moon base
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and Carlos García-Galán, Moon Base program manager, are due June 30 to provide another public update to the media on the status of the moon base plans.
During the briefing, the leaders will outline updates and share progress toward the goal of establishing a “sustained human presence and expanded scientific and commercial activity on the lunar surface,” according to a news release.
When, how to watch NASA coverage of moon base update today
NASA will provide live coverage of the news conference beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, June 30.
The livestream will be available on the agency’s free YouTube channel.
Livestream: Watch NASA moon base update
When will astronauts land on the moon? What to know about Artemis
Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the space agency is planning to put astronauts on the surface of the moon for the first time since the Apollo era ended in 1972.
Not only is Earth’s celestial neighbor a pristine time capsule ripe for study – preserved almost unaltered throughout the course of billions of years – but the moon is viewed as a stepping stone for human exploration deeper into space. One of the prime objectives of the Artemis program is to determine how humans can survive and thrive on the lunar surface before they head to Mars.
In April, four astronauts traveled around the moon and back on the Artemis II mission without landing in a critical test of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion crew capsule central to the missions, which launch from the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral. Next, four more astronauts will travel to Earth orbit in 2027 on the Artemis III mission that will test one or both commercial lunar landers being developed by spaceflight companies SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Those two test missions are meant to set the stage for the first of many planned human moon landings beginning as early as 2028 with Artemis IV.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: NASA’s moon base plans continue to take shape. Watch latest update
Reporting by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
