Here's what NASA said about its permanent moon base plans

• NASA plans to send fleets of landers, rovers, and drones to the moon before astronauts return.
• The agency's Moon Base initiative aims to establish a long-term human presence on the lunar surface.
• The first phase of the moon base construction will begin in 2026 with Blue Origin and other uncrewed missions delivering equipment.
• NASA has contracted companies to develop lunar rovers and drones to survey landing sites ahead of crewed missions.

Fleets of landers, rovers and drones will head to the moon in the months and years ahead before humans even step foot on the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years.

So says NASA, which is already working toward sending vehicles and cargo to construct an unprecedented moon base less than two months since the trailblazing Artemis II mission that sent four astronauts on a historic lunar journey.

The space agency on May 26 outlined the first of three phases under what it's calling its Moon Base initiative, which aims to not just return astronauts to the moon for the first time since the Apollo era, but establish a longstanding human presence. The United States' renewed interest in the moon comes as NASA sets its sights on sending astronauts to Mars.

“The Moon Base will be America’s and humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. “Every mission, crewed and uncrewed, will be a learning opportunity as we return to the lunar surface, build the infrastructure to stay, and master the skills required to live and operate in one of the most demanding and dangerous environments imaginable."

Here's everything to know about NASA's moon base and its plans to send astronauts back to the moon under its Artemis campaign.

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.

First 3 moon base missions begin with Blue Origin lander launch

NASA leaders on May 26 unveiled details about the first three uncrewed missions planned for 2026 that will set the stage for the construction of the moon base.

Those ventures are due to begin in fall with the planned launch of the Blue Moon lunar lander being developed by billionaire Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin spaceflight company.

The Mark 1 variant of the lander, which differs from the Mark 2 variant in that it's not designed for humans, will carry NASA equipment while targeting a landing on the Shackleton Connecting Ridge. The region in the lunar south pole can receive solar power from the sunlight and is in constant view of Earth, enabling uninterrupted communications, according to NASA.

Two other landers are also due to launch in 2026 to deliver supplies and technology to the moon, including Astrobotic’s Griffin lander – which will also carry a rover to begin testing travel on the lunar terrain – and Intuitive Machines’ third Nova-C lunar lander.

"These missions are the first of more than a dozen missions that will be announced this year, each designed to generate operational data and reduce risk ahead of crewed Artemis surface activities," NASA said in a statement.

NASA to send 2 lunar rovers ahead of humans

NASA further announced that it has awarded contracts to two companies to develop lunar rovers for astronauts to drive on the moon.

Colorado-based Lunar Outpost and Astrolab of Hawthorne, California, will each receive about $220 million to build vehicles capable of slowly navigating the moon's rough terrain.

The contract, made under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative (CLPS,) ensures a rover will be ready on the moon before astronauts return as early as 2028 under the Artemis IV mission.

Each rover – which NASA calls a lunar terrain vehicle, or LTV – will be designed for different objectives.

Astrolab's compact vehicle is designed to carry astronauts and cargo with a weight limit of up to 2,000 pounds and a top speed of 6 mph, NASA said. Lunar Outpost's rover, nicknamed Pegasus, is lighter and can travel about three mph faster.

The companies have about 18 months to ready their landers for launch, according to NASA. Blue Origin was also awarded a contract worth up to $468 million to transport the rovers to the moon.

Drones to survey Artemis landing sites

Before NASA puts boots back on the ground, the agency is planning in 2028 to send a fleet of four drones to survey the moon for safe landing sites for astronauts.

The mission, called Moonfall, would use the drones to literally hop from one place on the surface to the next to gather and transmit data back to Earth.

NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which is designing the drones, has awarded Texas-based company Firefly Aerospace a $75 million contract build the spacecraft that will transport them from Earth orbit to the moon.

After the launch, Firefly's Elytra spacecraft will transport the drones to the moon and deploy them about 30 miles above the surface, the company said in a press release.

Artemis III astronauts to be announced

NASA also has plans to soon announce the four astronauts selected for the Artemis III mission.

The announcement will be made live at 11 a.m. ET Tuesday, June 9, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, according to a press release.

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. Next, four more astronauts will travel to Earth orbit in 2027 on the Artemis III mission that will test one or both commercial human lunar landers being developed by spaceflight companies SpaceX and Blue Origin.

Just like the Artemis II crew, the astronauts selected for the Artemis III mission will hitch a ride to Earth orbit aboard the Orion crew capsule, which will launch atop NASA's towering Space Launch System rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]