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Moon Base priorities

No source gives a single ranked list of Moon Base priorities. The Users Guide states priorities in four places:

  • the goals of each phase
  • the Phase 1 functional gaps
  • the technology and data gaps behind the Moon Base's capabilities
  • the areas "ripe for strategic partnership"

NASA's open solicitation adds a fifth signal. This page gathers them and points to the detailed pages. The Users Guide's own framing: "Aligning capabilities and functions from NASA's Architecture Definition Document to Moon Base priorities provides a framework by which NASA can develop partnerships with industry, academia, and international space agencies" (Users Guide, p. 3).

1. Phase goals

Each phase has four goals (Users Guide, p. 4). The Phase 1 goals are:

  • "Achieve high-rate, reliable surface access."
  • "Establish ground truth for Moon Base landing sites."
  • "Experiment and test capabilities."
  • "First crewed Moon Base mission."

Goals for all three phases: Phases.

2. Phase 1 functional gaps

There are 31 functions in seven groups, which "NASA and its partners must close to enable the first phase" (Users Guide, pp. 8–10). The seven groups are:

  1. autonomous systems and robotics
  2. communications and PNT
  3. habitation
  4. logistics
  5. mobility
  6. power
  7. cargo transportation

Detail: Phase 1 functional gaps.

3. Technology and knowledge challenges

There are two headline challenges:

  • landing safely and accurately
  • operating on the surface for long durations

Thirteen associated challenges sit under them, tied to 19 technology gaps and data gaps DN-001 L to DN-019 L (Users Guide, pp. 12–13). Detail: Technology and knowledge challenges.

Ranking within the gaps. The tech gaps carry a priority bin and rating, where 1 is the highest priority; NASA set the order in December 2025, before the Moon Base was announced (ADD Rev C, p. 199; gaps index). The data gaps carry none. The Users Guide calls the data-gap list "not comprehensive or prioritized" (Users Guide, p. 11). DN-001 L to DN-019 L is every lunar data gap in the data gaps spreadsheet, so the guide cites all of them. It does not weight them. Counted by the wiki, not the guide: DN-009 L and DN-019 L are each cited under six challenges, and DN-008 L under five (data gaps index).

4. Strategic partnership areas

"Evolving through the phases of Moon Base implementation toward a continuous lunar presence will require major strategic partnerships on flagship exploration systems and capabilities." Beyond "the immediate architectural gaps identified throughout this document, NASA seeks long-term Moon Base partnerships". The "key areas ripe for strategic partnership" are listed in Users Guide, p. 15:

  • Surface habitation
  • Logistics services
  • Small mobility and robotics
  • High capacity mobility systems
  • Large cargo delivery and return
  • Resource mapping and reconnaissance
  • Sample storage and conditioning
  • Advanced navigation capabilities
  • "And more..."

The contact given is [email protected] (p. 15).

5. Open solicitation areas

The Lunar Surface Technologies solicitation names "five key areas":

  1. "vertical solar arrays for surface power"
  2. "oxygen production from lunar regolith"
  3. "radioisotope power generation"
  4. "in-space manufacturing"
  5. "advanced nanomaterials production"

(Moon Base Solicitations, "Lunar Surface Technologies").

It is NextSTEP-3 Appendix A, the Lunar Enabling Infrastructure Accelerator (final solicitation 8 September 2026; the wiki's match by name and areas), for ground testing to "TRL 5–6"; NASA says its topics address the gaps of its Civil Space Shortfalls. Its companion, NextSTEP-3 Appendix B, "Moon Base Demonstrations", from the Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate, takes "Moon Base architecture gaps" to "flight or lunar surface demonstrations": its "first directed topic call will be on surface power", followed by Infrastructure; C&PNT; Transportation; Mobility; Habitation; Autonomy & Robotics; Lunar Science; and Concepts of Operations (Surface technology; NextSTEP-3 B page).

Cross-cutting priorities named in the Users Guide

  • Shared infrastructure over self-sufficiency, for "power, logistics, communications, and navigation" (p. 6).
  • Interoperability standards "for lunar systems like power, docking, and communications" (p. 7).
  • Flight testing in Phase 1 to mature Earth-proven technologies (p. 6).
  • Mars-forward development in seven areas (p. 14). See Mars-forward.

Moon Base hub · Phases · Phase 1 functional gaps · Technology and knowledge challenges · Surface technology · Mars-forward

Sources

Users Guide · Moon Base Solicitations