Moon Base missions and assets¶
This page lists the missions and assets that NASA's pages tie to the Moon Base, as of the 1 October 2026 fetch. The Moon Base Phases page assigns assets to phases: eight to Phase One, one to Phase Two, none to Phase Three. The Ignition release (March 2026) names two partner assets for Phase Three. The Building the Moon Base fact sheet of the same day lists kinds of asset for each phase and names only MoonFall in its phase lists (below). The Moon Base Program's Ignition deck (26 March 2026) labels assets on a render of each phase and gives key missions with specifications (below). Other assets that NASA links to the Moon Base, but places in no phase, are listed separately. They are not assigned a phase here.
The May 2026 release numbers the first three Moon Base missions: Moon Base I (Blue Moon MK1 Endurance), Moon Base II (Griffin, with Astrolab's FLIP rover) and Moon Base III (Nova-C Trinity, Lunar Vertex) (May 2026 release). They are matched to the first three rows below by lander and payload; the match is the wiki's. The Administrator's speech at the same event adds that Moon Base I "will be the first privately funded lunar lander mission in history", that Moon Base II "will be the largest commercial payload delivered to the lunar surface ever", and that "Both Moon Base II and Moon Base III are targeted to launch before the end of 2026" (Moon Base speech, 26 May 2026). Three months later the program manager was less sure, as reported: of the first robotic missions "There'll be one, hopefully, one this year, and multiple next year", and "The Astrobotic is perhaps doing a mission next year that will deliver the flip rover" (podcast, recorded 14 August 2026). He names no mission number. The podcast is newer but ranks below the release and the speech; both are recorded (open question 98).
Phase One assets (per the phases page)¶
Unless noted, each entry cites Moon Base Phases, under the asset's heading.
| Asset | What it does for the Moon Base | Site | Timing given |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Origin Blue Moon MK1 "Endurance" (CLPS); Moon Base I in the May 2026 release | Demonstrates "precision landing technologies", "autonomous guidance, navigation, and control, as well as cryogenic propulsion". Carries SCALPSS (plume-surface imaging) and a Laser Retroreflector Array. The May release: it will "reduce risk for future crewed Artemis landing missions in 2028". | Shackleton Connecting Ridge, South Pole | phases page: not stated. May release: "no earlier than fall 2026" |
| Voyager Technologies Griffin-1 (CLPS); Moon Base II in the May 2026 release, which calls it "Astrobotic's Griffin lander" (open question 78) | "Infrastructure-class lander". Carries LDES (dust accumulation), a Lunar LiDAR Demonstration (3-D mapping), two LRAs, and METAL (helium-3 abundance, with Interlune). Five NASA payloads ride on the Astrolab FLIP rover (Aug 2026 update). The May release: "more than 1,100 pounds of cargo", FLIP to "inform future lunar terrain vehicle … operations". | South Pole region | launch late 2026 |
| Intuitive Machines IM-3 (CLPS); Moon Base III in the May 2026 release | Lunar Vertex (lunar swirl science), LDES, and the Altus-1 relay satellite. The May release: Lunar Vertex is "the first payload selected through" PRISM, and the mission carries payloads "from ESA … and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute". Altus-1 is "the first satellite in a planned lunar relay network" under a Near Space Network Services contract and carries NavCube3-mini (GPS and Galileo navigation near the Moon). NASA delivered NavCube3-mini to Intuitive Machines on 13 July 2026: 3.5 pounds, "less than 20 watts", a demonstration "validating the use of GNSS-based navigation in the lunar region" (NavCube3-mini article). | Reiner Gamma (not South Pole) | phases page: not stated. May release: "Also targeted for this year" (2026) |
| VIPER (via CLPS on the second Blue Moon MK1) | Maps water ice and volatiles with a 1 m drill, including in PSRs. "The first mission to create a resource map of another world". | South Pole | arrival late 2027 |
| CAPSTONE 02 | Two ~400 kg spacecraft in lunar orbit demonstrating rendezvous and proximity operations, autonomous navigation and cislunar communications, and characterizing radiation (CAPSTONE 02 article). | lunar orbit | launch 2027 |
| Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 2 (CLPS) | Blue Ghost lander plus Elytra orbiter. LuSEE-Night (radio science); a NASA User Terminal relaying through the Lunar Pathfinder satellite. | Far side (not South Pole) | not stated |
| MoonFall (JPL) | Four propulsive drones, deployed from Firefly's Elytra, that image potential landing sites, build high-resolution terrain maps, measure radiation and search for subsurface ice. The May release: Firefly builds "the spacecraft that will transport the drones from Earth orbit to the Moon"; each drone's "survive-the-night payload will continue to operate for several months". | South Pole | arrival 2028; May release: "Launch is targeted for 2028" |
| Lunar Terrain Vehicles | Unpressurized rovers for "two suited crewmembers and cargo". Operated "autonomously, by teleoperators, or by a single suited crewmember". Astrolab's CLV-1 and Lunar Outpost's Pegasus, delivered by Blue Origin. The May release: Astrolab $219 million and Lunar Outpost $220 million for "the first phase of LTVs"; Blue Origin "$188 million with an option period worth $280.4 million" to deliver them (CLPS task order CX-2). The Ignition page gives the contract's minimums: one-year life, 800 km uncrewed, 900 km crewed (Lunar Terrain Vehicle). | South Pole | delivery 2028 |
Two of the eight Phase One missions are not at the South Pole: IM-3 goes to Reiner Gamma and Blue Ghost Mission 2 to the far side. The phases page still lists both under Phase One.
Phase Two asset (per the phases page)¶
| Asset | What it does | Source |
|---|---|---|
| JAXA pressurized rover | "Mobile habitat and laboratory". Supports "extended exploration missions lasting up to 28 days with up to 14 days between cargo resupplies". Operated from the cabin, by teleoperators on Earth, or with "some autonomous operations". The Ignition release also puts it in Phase Two. | Moon Base Phases, "Pressurized Rover"; Ignition release, "Building the Moon Base" |
Phase Three assets (per the Ignition release)¶
The Ignition release, "Building the Moon Base" (24 March 2026) names two partner contributions for Phase Three, delivered "As cargo‑capable human landing systems (HLS) come online". The phases page doesn't list them.
| Asset | Partner | What the release says |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-purpose Habitats (MPH) | ASI (Italian Space Agency) | Part of the "heavier infrastructure needed for a continuous human foothold on the Moon" |
| Lunar Utility Vehicle | CSA (Canadian Space Agency) | The same sentence; no description |
The release adds "opportunities for additional contributions in habitation, surface mobility and logistics". Neither asset is matched to an ADD element here: CSA's vehicle is not the ADD's Lunar Utility Rover, which NASA's EVA and Human Surface Mobility Program implements (ADD Rev C, p. 61), and no source ties the habitats to the Initial Surface Habitat.
ASI's own poster for the architecture workshop in Rome (24–25 February 2026, a month before the release) expands the acronym as "Multipurpose Habitation Module (MPH)", pictures it as a module on wheels, lists "Artemis MPH" among Italy's "Habitation and Logistic (pressurized) Modules", and names "MPH module logistic relocation" as a mobility application. The poster gives no phase, date, size or crew, and doesn't say "Moon Base" (ASI poster). It is ASI's material, not NASA's architecture.
Kinds of asset in the Building the Moon Base fact sheet¶
The fact sheet of 24 March 2026 lists what each phase brings, mostly by kind, not by name (Building the Moon Base fact sheet, pp. 1–2). Its full wording for each phase is on Phases, under each phase. This table gives only the assets, abridged. The last column says which entries on this page are on the same subject; those matches are the wiki's unless the column says the fact sheet names the asset.
| Phase | What the fact sheet lists | On this page |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Now–2029) | "Crewed and autonomous rovers for basic mobility and surface improvement demonstrations" | The Lunar Terrain Vehicles (the wiki's match). On p. 2 the fact sheet has "Multiple classes of LTVs starting on Phase 1, with simplified functionality". |
| 1 | "hopper drones called MoonFall" | MoonFall, named by the fact sheet: Phase 1, as on the phases page |
| 1 | "communications relay and observation satellites to bring the world along as the Moon Base is constructed" | The relay satellites: Altus-1 on IM-3, "the first satellite in a planned lunar relay network" (the wiki's match). The observation satellites match no entry. Their stated purpose is to "bring the world along", not to measure. |
| 1 | "Early power, navigation, communication, and nuclear RHU demonstrations to ensure systems can survive the lunar night" ("RHU" is not expanded) | The CLPS CS-8 bonus for "a radioisotope device", the encyclopedia's radioisotope heating demonstrations and the Northrop Grumman "survive-the-night systems" (the wiki's pairing, by subject). They stay under "no phase stated" below, because the fact sheet names none of them. |
| 1 | "All the scientific payloads that can be incorporated on every lander and rover"; "four tons of payload delivered to test what works on the surface" | none |
| 2 (2029–2032) | "improved solar and initial nuclear-based power stations (potentially including both fission reactor and RTGs)" | Lunar Reactor-1 is on the same subject, and its 2030 date falls in Phase 2, but the fact sheet doesn't name it. It stays unphased (below). |
| 2 | "upgraded rovers, advanced MoonFall drones, and habitation" | MoonFall, named by the fact sheet, now in Phase 2 as well, as in Ignition deck 2 (below). The phases page lists MoonFall in Phase One only, and only JAXA's rover in Phase Two; the fact sheet doesn't name JAXA's rover. |
| 2 | "surface-to-orbit communications stations"; up to 24 landings "with low, medium and heavy cargo-class landers" | none |
| 3 (2032 and beyond) | "semi-permanent habitation modules with spacious interior volume" | The release puts ASI's Multi-purpose Habitats in Phase Three; the fact sheet doesn't name them, and the wiki doesn't equate them. |
| 3 | "An operational fission surface power station with sufficient power to provide steady, reliable energy through the long lunar nights" | Lunar Reactor-1 is not named here either. |
| 3 | "Operating pressurized rovers that enable long distance exploration and surface travel" | The JAXA pressurized rover, which the phases page and the release put in Phase Two. The fact sheet names no maker and doesn't say when the first rover arrives. |
| 3 | "advanced logistics networks, leveraging a fleet of crewed and autonomous rovers"; cargo by "low cost, reusable heavy lift capabilities" | none |
Page 2, "Commercial, International Partners at Center of Lunar Build-Up", gives the means, not more assets: CLPS expanded "to include larger, more capable landers and rovers, with new task orders issued immediately"; LTVs "developing to more advanced vehicles in later phases"; "dozens of commercial launches per year through the Launch Services Program"; crew and heavy cargo beyond Artemis V "leveraging Human Landing System and HDL Programs" ("HDL" is not expanded; see Human-Class Delivery Lander); and chances for "all Artemis Accords signatories" to contribute "in every phase of Moon Base build-up" (Building the Moon Base fact sheet, p. 2).
Assets in Ignition deck 2¶
The Moon Base Program's deck "Building the Moon Base" (26 March 2026) labels the assets on a render of each phase and gives "Key mission" slides with specifications (Ignition deck 2, slides 10–33). The deck names the phase for each. Matches to this page's entries are by name where the deck uses the same name, and the wiki's otherwise. Its per-year counts of assets, landers and launches are on Phases.
| Phase | Labeled on the render | Key missions (specifications as printed) | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Navigation Capability", "Orbital Comm Relays", "Observation Satellites", "MoonFall Drone", "CLPS", "Human Landing System", "VIPER", "Uncrewed LTV", "Crewed LTV", "RHU Survive the Night" (slide 10) | LTVs: "500 kg maximum rover mass", slopes "+/- 20 degrees", "Survives up to 150 hours in shadow", "Max speed 10 km/hr" (slide 11). MoonFall: drones that "land themselves", "several propulsive hops covering up to 50km each in total", "maximum altitude of 1km", payloads "Optical camera(s)" and "Survive the night avionics demonstrations" (slide 12). Communications and observation satellites: Earth–cislunar throughput ">500 Mbps", more surface-to-orbit links, "Test initial LunaNET interoperability standards" (slide 14). VIPER: "450 kg rover mass", "100+ day mission traversing 30+ km", "Survives up to 50 hours in shadow", "Three spectrometers & one drill" (slide 15). Radioisotope heater units: "Initial lander demonstrations will survive 120+ continuous hours of darkness" (slide 16). | VIPER, MoonFall and the LTVs by name. The relays and the RHU demonstrations are on the same subjects as Altus-1 and the CS-8 bonus (the wiki's pairing); the deck names neither. |
| 2 | "Solar Power Augmentation", "Nuclear Power/ Thermal", "Power Infrastructure", "Logistics Demo", "LTV Gen 2", "Surface Comm & Nav", "Pressurized Rover", "Excavator Rovers", "Site Prep & Logistics Rovers" (slide 21); the payload list adds "MoonFall drones" (slide 20) | JAXA's Pressurized Rover: two crew "in shirt sleeve environment", "10-year design life", "15,000 kg rover mass", "Cargo mass 3,000 kg" (slide 22). Solar power: stations giving "10 kW+ during illumination" and "360 kWh during shadow" (slide 23). Surface communications: surface-to-orbit stations and an asset-to-asset network with "~10km range" (slide 24). Site preparation and logistics rovers: "NASA LTV Gen 2" and "Other industry and international rovers" (slide 25). Nuclear surface power: demonstrations, "Used as power generation stations" and "within assets to enable night survival" (slide 26). | The JAXA pressurized rover by name, in Phase 2 as on the phases page. MoonFall by name, in Phase 2 as in the fact sheet. The nuclear demonstrations name no reactor; Lunar Reactor-1 stays unphased (below). |
| 3 | "Cargo Return", "Fission Surface Power", "Logistics", "ISRU", "Habitats" (twice), "Power Distribution" (slide 31) | Logistics: "~8,000 kg of carriers, consumables, and other items to support a 4crew, 28-day mission" (slide 32). Habitats: "Multiple habitable volumes across multiple site locations", with ECLSS, surface mating and airlocks (slide 33). | Habitats: the release's ASI Multi-purpose Habitats are in Phase Three too; the deck doesn't name them, and the wiki doesn't equate them. |
Phase 3 adds two key missions: cargo return, "Initial demo in Phase 2" and in Phase 3 a "mass goal of 500 kg", for "Science returns", "Critical hardware" and "Inspiration"; and ISRU, "experiment & demo" in Phases 1 and 2 and "begin implementation" in Phase 3, for "Oxygen, water, rare Earth elements, hydrogen" and regolith building by "Corbelling, 3D printing, sintering" (Ignition deck 2, slides 34–35).
More assets, by capability area (slides 42–62). The deck's capability slides name assets the phase renders don't:
- Science rovers in Phase 1: "NASA - VIPER", "Astrolab - FLIP" and "UAE Rover – Rashid", listed as "CLPS 1.0 Science Rovers" (slide 57). The deck doesn't expand FLIP or say when they fly.
- LTVs by phase: Phase 1 vehicles are "Less complicated rovers, one-year design life & NASA as the only user"; Phase 3 ones carry a "10-year design life requirement (NASA & commercial users)" (slide 57). See Lunar Terrain Vehicle.
- Communications: an "initial 5-satellite constellation" and a "second provider constellation" in Phase 1, a "Deployable Surface Comm Tower", "Lunar PNT" and a "Clock Demo" in Phase 2, and "High-Throughput Surface Comms" in Phase 3 (slides 50–51).
- Habitation: "Early pressurized module(s)" in Phase 2; "Initial surface habitats > 100 m³", partner and US, with airlocks and nodes, in Phase 3 (slide 62).
- Programs attached to the Moon Base (slide 42): LSP/DSL, CLPS, "HDL", EVA, LTV, the Pressurized Rover, comm networks, Gateway and "MPH". Reading "MPH" as the ASI Multi-purpose Habitats named above is the wiki's match by acronym.
The deck's 2026 procurement timeline (slide 63) dates the CX-2 and CS-8 task orders, CLPS 2.0, the Phase 1 LTV task order, the capabilities RFI, a lunar communications RFP and the "JPL MoonFall Drones & Transporter Procurement" (source page). It calls CX-2 "Large Payload Delivery (500 kg Class)" and CS-8 "Science Payload Delivery (150 kg Class)".
Moon Base–linked assets with no phase stated¶
| Asset | What the source says | Date given | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lunar Reactor-1 (fission surface power) | "the first fission nuclear reactor on the Moon, will land on the lunar surface in 2030". The nuclear fact sheet: "a fission surface-power system designed to keep the Moon Base operating through periods of darkness and in locations where solar power alone cannot reach". SR-1 Freedom flies a reactor first, which "retires nuclear flight risk" before a lunar landing. No power level is given for LR-1. | 2030 | Lunar Surface Technology, "Fission Surface Power"; nuclear fact sheet, p. 1 |
| Northrop Grumman demonstrations (three payloads) | Reuse Gateway HALO power and avionics hardware to test "survive-the-night systems", "shared surface power infrastructure", and avionics | not stated | Aug 2026 update, "Northrop Grumman" |
| Four science landings by Astrobotic (two), Firefly and Intuitive Machines | Selected 30 June 2026 "as part of the agency's Moon Base Program", "nearly $600 million" under CLPS, on "updated versions of already-flown lander designs". "Each delivery will carry three NASA payloads": SCALPSS (plume effects on dust), a Laser Retroreflector Array (location markers) and LETS (surface radiation), to "build out a global network of environmental data and location markers". No sites given. | late 2028 | Moon Base encyclopedia, "History"; June 2026 release |
| PROMISE (Polar Rover for Observation, Mapping, and In-Situ Exploration) | NASA "is considering plans to send" it: "a hybrid engineering development version of the Mars Perseverance and Curiosity rovers", to "characterize the lunar surface, subsurface, and prospect for resources". Not selected. | not stated | June 2026 release |
| Planned solicitations (June 2026) | Landers for "a power and avionics technology demonstration, another science manifest, and a South Pole optical imager"; "an open solicitation for Moon Base technology demonstrations"; "a lunar communication and navigation relay constellation to enable improved communication between Moon Base elements and Earth" | "in the coming months" | June 2026 release |
| CLPS CS-8 task order (Ignition) | "Moon Base payload deliveries" on landers "with proven heritage", with "a performance bonus" for demonstrating "'survive the night' capabilities by deploying a radioisotope device and transmitting signals from the lunar surface after enduring a full lunar night" | "by the end of 2028", "deliveries through Fiscal Year 2029" | Ignition page |
| Radioisotope heating demonstrations | "to help protect surface assets during cold lunar nights and operations in permanently shadowed regions" | not stated | Moon Base encyclopedia, "Did You Know?" |
| Three PRISM science suites (selected September 2026), flying "using the CLPS … initiative as part of the agency's Moon Base Program": LEMS-SP, a "long-term environmental and hazard monitoring station" (micrometeoroids, exospheric volatiles, a seismometer); GIMLI, which will look for a lava tube under the Marius Hills Pit (not the South Pole); DISCO, ice "in lunar micro-cold traps", plume effects on the ground and surface stability "for mobility" | Purpose: "understand lunar resources, map natural shelters, and assess environmental hazards". No site is given for LEMS-SP (its name says South Pole) or DISCO. | not stated | PRISM release, Sep 2026 |
Lunar Reactor-1's 2030 date falls inside the Phase Two dates (2029–2032), but no source places it in a phase. The nuclear fact sheet ties it to the Moon Base by name, not to a phase. The Building the Moon Base fact sheet's Phase 2 and Phase 3 power stations don't name it (above). The PRISM release doesn't say whether its three suites fly on the four science landings selected in June, and the June release names other payloads for them (it adds that NASA is "reviewing options for these landers to deliver potential additional payloads"). The wiki doesn't equate them. The four landings' late-2028 date falls inside Phase One's dates, but no source places them in a phase.
CLPS cadence. The Ignition release targets "up to 30 robotic landings starting in 2027"; the CLPS page and the June release count "17" planned deliveries by 2028.
Other context¶
- SR-1 Freedom. The Users Guide also names this Mars-directed item from the Ignition event. It is "a nuclear electric propulsion demo repurposing the Power and Propulsion Element originally planned for the Gateway space station", with "a fleet of robotic helicopters that will scout the Martian surface" (Users Guide, p. 2). No source lists it as a Moon Base asset or places it in a phase. Its own mission page says it will "prove fission surface power technology for NASA's Moon Base" (SR-1 Freedom page). The nuclear fact sheet gives its launch, December 2028, its Skyfall helicopters, and its part in the sequence that leads to Lunar Reactor-1; see Mars-forward.
- CAPSTONE (2022) is not CAPSTONE 02. The first CAPSTONE, launched June 2022, finished NASA's work in June 2026 after testing autonomous navigation and delay/disruption tolerant networking at the Moon; NASA ties it to the Moon Base only in an image caption (CAPSTONE article, Jul 2026; SCaN Networks). The Phase One table's CAPSTONE 02 is a new two-spacecraft mission.
- CLPS deliveries in 2025. NASA's July 2025 timeline of past and planned CLPS deliveries, older than Rev C, is on CLPS.
- Gateway hardware. Both SR-1 Freedom (PPE) and the Northrop Grumman demonstrations (HALO) reuse Gateway hardware. The August 2026 update calls this "NASA's shift from an orbital-focused lunar strategy to one centered on surface operations".
- Technology projects. For the technology projects NASA lists for the lunar surface (CADRE, IPEx, COLDArm, and others), see Surface technology.
How these relate to ADD elements¶
ADD Rev C (Dec 2025) has 15 elements (Elements). The Moon Base pages don't refer to the ADD, so each link below is labeled. Details are in each element page's "Moon Base relevance" section.
- CLPS is named by the sources: the phases page says five of the eight Phase One assets are organized through or delivered via CLPS, and the wheel-challenge article adds the LTVs (CLPS). The PRISM release says its three suites fly via CLPS too.
- Lunar Terrain Vehicles (Phase One) and the JAXA pressurized rover (Phase Two) repeat the wording of the ADD's Lunar Terrain Vehicle and Pressurized Rover one-pagers (ADD Rev C, pp. 60, 63). Matching them to the elements is the wiki's reading.
- Lunar Reactor-1 is announced under "Fission Surface Power", the program the ADD prints for its Lunar Nuclear Fission System (p. 58). The match is the wiki's.
- Altus-1 (on IM-3) is built under a "Near Space Network Services contract". The Near Space Network is part of the ADD's SCaN Networks element (p. 64).
- Northrop Grumman demonstrations and SR-1 Freedom reuse hardware from the ADD's Gateway (HALO and the PPE).
These matches don't map ADD segments to Moon Base phases. The LTV and Pressurized Rover are Foundational Exploration elements in the ADD, and no source relates segments to phases.
Related pages¶
Phases · Phase 1 functional gaps · Surface technology · Moon Base hub · Elements
Sources¶
Moon Base Phases · Aug 2026 Moon Base update · CAPSTONE 02 article · NavCube3-mini article, Aug 2026 · PRISM release, Sep 2026 · Ignition release, Mar 2026 · Ignition page · May 2026 release · June 2026 release · CLPS page · Building the Moon Base fact sheet, Mar 2026 · Nuclear power fact sheet, Mar 2026 · Moon Base encyclopedia entry · Lunar Surface Technology · Users Guide · ADD Rev C, pp. 58, 60, 63–64 · SR-1 Freedom page · CAPSTONE article, Jul 2026 · CLPS timeline graphic, Jul 2025