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Ignition deck 2: "Building the Moon Base"

Document: 2-building-the-moon-base.pdf, 65 slides. The title slide reads "BUILDING THE MOON BASE", presented by "Carlos Garcia-Galan, Moon Base Program Executive" (slide 1). His NASA staff page calls him the Moon Base Program Manager (staff page); both titles are recorded as printed. The Ignition page lists the deck as the "Building the Moon Base" presentation, "Mar 26, 2026, 31.37 MB"; the download is 32,893,819 bytes, which is 31.37 MB (sources/manifest.csv). The text layer has no date, and none of the slide images opened shows one. Text: sources/text/docs/2026-03-2-building-the-moon-base.txt; images in sources/raw/slides/2026-03-2-building-the-moon-base/.

Coverage. This page covers all 65 slides. All 41 text-poor slides (sources/workshops-screening.md) were read from their images, and so were the slides whose tables carry the point (2, 12, 16, 35, 48, 51, 54, 57, 62).

Date. The deck's own slides point to 24 March 2026, Ignition day, as the day it was given: slide 48 has CLPS draft RFTPs "issued today", and slide 63 dates those drafts "3 / 24"; slide 40 says the RFIs are "posted to sam.gov today", and slide 63 dates the RFI "3 / 24". That reading is the wiki's. This wiki dates the deck by the Ignition page's listing, 26 March 2026 (open question 83).

Rank. A briefing, not the architecture of record (SCHEMA, "Workshop slides"). It is dated 26 March 2026, before the Users Guide (April 2026) and the Moon Base web pages as fetched; it sits beside them and doesn't replace them. Where it says something newer than ADD Rev C, the wiki records it as "briefed at Ignition, March 2026".

No controlled-information marking. Deck 2's text layer has no "Pre-Decisional --- CUI" line, unlike Ignition deck 1 (whole text layer searched; open question 80).

Summary. The Moon Base Program's Ignition briefing. It opens with why Gateway is being repurposed, then walks through the three phases: for each, a goals slide, a figures box with a date range, labeled assets on a render of the base, a per-year table of assets, landers and launches ("$10 BILLION" for Phases 1 and 2, "$10 BILLION +" for Phase 3), and "Key mission" slides with specifications. A second part, "Capabilities", takes six areas (launch, landers, communications and PNT, power, mobility, habitation and logistics) phase by phase, with the procurements behind them, and ends with a 2026 procurement timeline. Its nine phase figures are the Users Guide's p. 4 figures exactly, and its goals are close to the guide's. It names the phases a fifth way, and its own slides give different end years for Phases 1 and 2.

Slides 1–33

Slides Content
1 Title (above)
2–3 "CAPABILITY EVOLUTION": "Gateway Pivot" and "Gateway Evolution" (below)
4 Render of the full Moon Base (habitats, rovers, landers, solar towers, antennas, satellites), no text
5 The three phases, names and start years, over the same render split in three (below)
6 Image of the Moon, no text
7–17 Phase One: goals (7), render (8), figures "Now through 2028" (9), labeled assets (10), key missions: LTVs (11), MoonFall (12), an uncaptioned lander image (13), communications and observation satellites (14), VIPER (15), "Radioisotope Demos" (16), per-year table (17)
18–27 Phase Two: goals (18), render (19), figures "2029–2033" (20), labeled assets (21), key missions: Pressurized Rover (22), Solar Power Augmentation (23), Surface Communications (24), Site Preparation and Logistics Rovers (25), "Nuclear Surface Power Capability" (26), per-year table (27)
28–33 Phase Three: goals (28), render (29), figures "2033–2036" (30), labeled assets (31), key missions: Logistics (32), Habitats (33)

Slides 1, 4–10, 13, 17–21, 25 and 27–31 are text-poor (sources/workshops-screening.md) and were read from their images, as were slides 2, 12 and 16; the tables below follow the images.

Slides 34–65

Slides Content
34–35 Phase Three key missions, continued: Cargo Return (34), In-situ Resource Utilization (35)
36 "MOON BASE: PHASE 03" per-year table, 2033–2036 (below)
37 "MOON BASE": the three per-year tables side by side, 2026–2036 (below)
38 Photo of a rover with bucket drums digging in a regolith test bin, no caption
39 Mock-up of a NASA+ web page: "LIVE", "Video Feed", "Moon Base Operations", "WATCH"
40 "Rising to the Challenge": limitations and what NASA will do (below)
41–42 "CAPABILITIES": six areas as hexagons (41), then the programs attached to each (42) (below)
43–48 Transportation: divider (43), Launch Services Program and Deep Space Logistics (44), landers divider with seven uncaptioned lander renders (45), CLPS (46), Large Cargo Landers (47), Transportation Procurements (48)
49–51 Communications and PNT: divider (49), labeled render (50), table by phase (51)
52–54 Power: divider (52), labeled render (53), table by phase (54)
55–59 Mobility: divider (55), labeled render (56), table by phase (57), LTV contract changes (58), LTV procurements (59)
60–62 Habitation and logistics: divider (60), labeled render (61), table for Phases 2 and 3 (62)
63 "2026 Procurement Timeline", March to September (below)
64 Render of the lunar limb with the Earth, no text
65 Closing: "Exploring the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all. nasa.gov"

Of these, slides 34, 36–39, 41–43, 45, 47, 49, 50, 52, 53, 55, 56, 60, 61 and 63–65 are text-poor and were read from their images, as were slides 35, 48, 51, 54, 57 and 62, whose columns the text layer runs together. The wiki doesn't name the rover on slide 38 or the landers on slide 45; the deck doesn't.

Phase 3 key missions, continued (slides 34–35)

  • Cargo Return (slide 34): "Return cargo from the lunar surface". "Initial demo in Phase 2"; "Phase 3: implement capability with mass goal of 500 kg"; "Uncrewed cargo return missions: Science returns; Critical hardware; Inspiration". The render shows a small ascent vehicle lifting off a lander.
  • In-situ Resource Utilization (slide 35): "In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) technology and implementation". "Phase 1 & 2 experiment & demo"; "Phase 3 continue demo and begin implementation"; "Enabling use of lunar commodities could enable reductions in launch mass, cost, and risk to human exploration"; "Key commodities from regolith: Oxygen, water, rare Earth elements, hydrogen"; "Converting regolith into durable and sustainable materials with techniques such as Corbelling, 3D printing, sintering".

Phase 3 per-year table and the overview (slides 36–37)

"MOON BASE: PHASE 03" (slide 36). Investment: "$10 BILLION +" across 2033 to 2036. Icons are named as in Per-year tables; the house is the icon slides 41–42 label "HABITATION" (the wiki's match). The lander icons are three stacked blocks (large) and two (medium), plus the plume icon.

Row 2033 2034 2035 2036
Surface and orbital assets house ×1; LTV icon ×2 house ×1; gear ×1 house ×1; LTV icon ×1 house ×1; gear ×1; LTV icon ×1
Landers large ×3; plume icon ×2; medium ×1 large ×2; plume icon ×3; medium ×2 large ×2; plume icon ×3; medium ×2 large ×2; plume icon ×4; medium ×2
Launches ×7 ×7 ×7 ×8

Against slide 30's box (the wiki's sums of the printed counts): the launches sum to 29, the landers to 28 and the LTV icons to 4, slide 30's "29 launches", "28 landings" and "4 rovers". So all three of Phase 3's figures are for 2033 to 2036 as a whole.

"MOON BASE" (slide 37) sets the three tables side by side: Phase 01 over 2026–2028, Phase 02 over 2029–2032, Phase 03 over 2033–2036, with "$10 BILLION", "$10 BILLION" and "$10 BILLION +". Its counts match slides 17, 27 and 36, with one exception: 2036 has "x 7" launches, where slide 36 has "x 8", so Phase 3's launches sum to 28 here. Slide 37 prints 2027's small landers plainly as "x 8", which supports the reading of slide 17's overwritten glyph (see Oddities). The deck gives no total across the phases, and the wiki doesn't add the three investments.

Rising to the Challenge (slide 40)

"To achieve the near-impossible, we are driving to a high volume of complex missions with challenging execution timelines." Known limitations: "Supply chain"; "Reliable access to capable test facilities"; "Manufacturing capability and capacity"; "Technology maturation". NASA will "Leverage highly capable NASA facilities (environmental testing, propulsion testing, etc.)", "Leverage core NASA expertise to provide collaboration, in-line support and lessons learned – this starts now on existing projects", and "Leverage previous development experience, and relationships, to assist with supply chain issues". "We need your ideas — requests for information soliciting inputs are posted to sam.gov today!"

Capabilities (slides 41–42)

Slide 41, "How We're Building the Moon Base", shows six hexagons: "TRANSPORTATION: LAUNCH & OTV", "SURFACE MOBILITY", "TRANSPORTATION: LANDERS", "INFRASTRUCTURE" (power, tools and antenna icons), "LOGISTICS" and "HABITATION". Slide 42, "Every Asset, Every Kilogram, and All Lunar Exploration Resources Focused On Building the Moon Base", attaches programs to them by connecting lines:

Area Programs attached (slide 42)
Transportation: launch and OTV "LSP / DSL" (slide 44 names the Launch Services Program and the Deep Space Logistics Project)
Surface mobility "EVA", "PRESSURIZED ROVER", "LTV"
Transportation: landers "CLPS", "HDL"
Infrastructure "COMM NETWORKS"
Logistics "GATEWAY" (its hexagon is joined to Logistics and to Habitation)
Habitation "MPH", "GATEWAY"

The deck doesn't expand "OTV" or "MPH". The Ignition release names "ASI's (Italian Space Agency) Multi-purpose Habitats (MPH)" in Phase Three; reading slide 42's "MPH" as those habitats is the wiki's match by acronym. No power program is attached to Infrastructure.

Transportation (slides 43–48)

  • Launch Services Program and Deep Space Logistics (slide 44): they provide "commercial end-to-end contract management and mission integration expertise to enable lunar access and logistics deliveries through a mixed fleet approach, enabling unique mission support and block buys for standardized delivery capabilities", to "accelerate access to cislunar space through the purchase of an abundance of launch & transit capacity to serve NASA and our partnering organizations' needs (academia, international partners, and other government agencies)".
  • CLPS (slide 46): "CLPS was set up to: Enable low cost (more risk tolerant) lunar payload delivery opportunities; Incubate a new US-led industry base". "With the Moon Base directive, the CLPS approach will evolve to increase: Lander payload delivery capability through Phase 3 and beyond; Mission reliability; Increased mission quantity and cadence". NASA will "immediately" release "two new Requests for Task Order Proposals (RFTPs) to support Phase 1", "Infuse NASA's core competencies to increase mission reliability", and "Release a follow-on CLPS solicitation to support Phase 2&3".
  • Large Cargo Landers (slide 47): "Drawing on the Human Landing System for cargo with Human-class Delivery Landers", over two renders of crew landers with cargo.
  • Transportation Procurements (slide 48): "NASA Launch Services task orders issued starting in CY 2027". "CLPS 1.0 Draft RFTPs issued today for large payloads (500 kg) & smaller science payloads (<100 kg)", "Task Order awards within 90 days"; "Follow-on Draft RFTP issued within 50 days", "Task Order award(s) within 150 days"; "CLPS 2.0 Draft Request for Proposals issued today", "New Contract awards by the end of GFY26". "Baseline Planned CLPS Opportunities: CLPS 1.0 Draft Request for Task Plan to vendors in mid-June for CP-32 DIMPLE Delivery". The deck doesn't expand "CP-32" or "DIMPLE".

Communications and PNT (slides 49–51)

Slide 49's title is "Infrastructure: Communications & Positioning, Navigation, Tracking, and Observation". Slide 50 labels a render: "Phase 1 Relay Satellites w/ Observability", "Phase 2 Deployable Surface Comm Tower", "Phase 2 Lunar PNT", "Phase 2 Clock Demo", "Phase 3 High-Throughput Surface Comms".

Phase 1 (slide 51) Phase 2 Phase 3
Orbital comm & PNT relay: "Deploy initial 5-satellite constellation"; "Add second provider constellation". Add observation capability. Data and standards: "Mature interoperability specification baseline across all users and infrastructure - LunaNET" Surface communications: "Permanent surface "cell towers""; "Simultaneous support for multiple users via integrated surface network terminals". Navigation infrastructure: "Clock technology demonstration" Surface communications: "Coordinated communication across all assets in support of Moon Base"; "Scaled network deployment across regions". Navigation infrastructure: "Clock ensembles – persistent time broadcast"

Two constellations, one of five satellites, fit the Phase 1 table's two counts of five satellite icons in 2027 and 2028 (slide 17). That pairing is the wiki's; the deck doesn't say what the icons count.

Power (slides 52–54)

Slide 53 labels a render: "Phase 1: Solar Battery/ RFC Power", "Phase 2: Nuclear Power", "Phase 3: Fission Surface Power". The deck doesn't expand "RFC".

Phase 1 (slide 54): Initial Power Phase 2: Deploying Power Infrastructure Phase 3: Enabling Power Distribution
"Deploy assets responsible for self-supported power generation and survival"; "Demo initial hibernation points"; "Demo initial Radioisotope Heater Units (RHUs)" "Deploy Solar Arrays Power Stations"; "Deploy Radioisotope Thermal Generator (RTG) Power Stations"; "Assets begin routinely using RHUs & RTGs to enable night survival and additional night operational capability"; "Demonstrate wireless charging for Rovers"; "Demonstrate dust tolerant electrical connectors"; "Demonstrate electrical cable deployment"; "Demonstrate reactor surface power" "Fission Surface Power"; "Power distribution deployed to support habitats and surface assets" (wireless charging, dust tolerant electrical connectors, electrical cable deployment); "Permanently Shadowed Region exploration"

Mobility (slides 55–59)

Slide 56 labels a render: "Phase 1 LTV", "Phase 2+ Advanced LTV", "Phase 2 Pressurized Rover", "Phase 2+ International Partner Rovers", "Phase 1 Site Preparation & Logistics", "Phase 1+ Science Rovers".

Phase 1 (slide 57) Phase 2 Phase 3
CLPS 1.0 Science Rovers: "NASA - VIPER", "Astrolab - FLIP", "UAE Rover – Rashid". MoonFall Drones: "Science, overnight survival tech demo, surface communication". Lunar Terrain Vehicle Phase 1: "Less complicated rovers, one-year design life & NASA as the only user"; "Simplified crewed rover(s)"; "Autonomous rover(s) capable of site surveying, site preparation demonstration, & logistics mobility" Lunar Terrain Vehicle: "Increased reliability of crewed & uncrewed rovers (NASA as the only user)"; "Increase logistics and science payload carrying capability"; "Regolith manipulation demo(s)". Partner Rover: "JAXA - Human Pressurized Exploration Rover". Partner Potentials: "Science rovers"; "Landing & habitation site prep rover demo(s)"; "Power cable deployment rover demo(s)"; "Initial logistics transfer rovers"; "Increase robotic manipulation capabilities" Lunar Terrain Vehicle: "Crewed & uncrewed rovers 10-year design life requirement (NASA & commercial users)"; "Full logistics transfer capabilities"; "Robotic manipulation capabilities"; "Permanently shadowed region exploration capable using RHU & RTG"; "Regolith manipulation". Partner Potential Rovers: "Landing & habitation site prep rovers"; "Power cable deployment rovers"; "Large logistics/utility rovers"; "Robotic manipulation capabilities"
  • "Lunar Terrain Vehicles" (slide 58, "CAPABILITY EVOLUTION"): "LTV contract was set up to: Deliver a "fully capable" crewed rover to survive for 10 years; Per current schedule, delivery to the lunar surface by 2030; Cost, technical complexity, and schedule puts NASA in a "no fail" solution space". "With the Moon Base directive, LTV must adapt to: Gain quicker access to crewed and uncrewed lunar surface rover operations; Increase quantity of rovers on lunar surface; Add uncrewed rovers that can evolve to serve numerous additional lunar surface needs; Allow for multiple vendor solutions, de-risking NASA; De-risk long-term mission success through learning and phased design evolution".
  • "LTV Procurements" (slide 59, headed "TRANSPORATION" as printed): "LTV draft RFTP issued today for proposals on a more simplified variant of both crewed and uncrewed rovers"; "On-ramp RFP to increase vendor pool for Phase 2 LTVs planned for 2027"; "Foresee Task Order competitions every 18 to 24 months for future rover deliveries as Moon Base capability needs evolve".

Habitation and logistics (slides 60–62)

Slide 61 labels a render: "Phase 1 Logistics Deliveries", "Phase 3 Cargo Return", "Phase 3 Habitats". Slide 62 has no Phase 1 column.

Phase 2 (slide 62) Phase 3
Early Surface Logistics: "Deploy initial logistics capabilities" ("0.5 to 1.5 metric tons", "Initial sustainment"); "Demo surface mating"; "Demo small cargo return". Demo Habitation: "Establish early human habitation lunar base capability"; "Early pressurized module(s) with minimal environmental control and life support systems supported by external power" Operational Surface Logistics: "End-to-end logistics capabilities" ("Up to eight metric tons per 28-day mission"); "Operational surface mating"; "Sustained small cargo return"; "Demo med/large cargo return" ("Goal: 500 kg"); "Initial surface habitats > 100 m³" ("Partner habitats", "US habitats"); "Additional elements" ("Airlocks", "Nodes")

2026 procurement timeline (slide 63)

Read from the image; the text layer has only the title. Dates are as printed (month / day, 2026).

Procurement Milestones
"CLPS 1.0 | Large Payload Delivery (500 kg Class) [CX-2] Task Order Competition" 3/24 draft RFTP; 4/06 final RFTP; 4/27 proposal due; 6/08 award(s)
"CLPS 1.0 | Science Payload Delivery (150 kg Class) [CS-8] Task Order Competition" 3/24 draft RFTP; 4/06 final RFTP; 5/04 proposal due; 6/18 award(s)
"CLPS 2.0 | Competitive Follow-on Procurement" 3/24 draft RFTP; 5/15 final RFTP; 6/30 proposals due; 9/01 award(s)
"LTVS | Moon Base Phase 1 Initial Capabilities Task Order Competition" 3/24 draft RFTP; 4/06 final RFTP; 5/01 proposal due; 5/22 award(s)
"Moon Base Capabilities and Supply Chain Request for Information" 3/24 RFI; 4/24 RFI response due; RFP in May, with an arrow running on through September
"Moon Base Lunar Communications Procurement" 6/01 RFP, with an arrow running on through September
"JPL MoonFall Drones & Transporter Procurement" 3/24 "RPF" (as printed); 4/23 proposal due; 5/23 award(s)

The Ignition page describes CX-2 as delivering the Lunar Terrain Vehicle and CS-8 as "Moon Base payload deliveries"; the deck gives their size classes. The May 2026 release reports CLPS 2.0's final RFP on 15 May with responses due 30 June, the deck's planned dates.

Gateway (slides 2–3)

  • "Gateway Pivot" (slide 2): "National space policy prioritizes sending astronauts back to the lunar surface and building a lunar outpost on the surface of the Moon. The current Gateway architecture, while relevant to long term exploration goals, is not required to accomplish the primary objectives of landing humans on the Moon and establishing a Moon Base." So "NASA is using Gateway elements to enable building the Moon Base, shifting the focus of the resources and people to the surface, which will also include orbital elements to support surface ops." Additional considerations:
    • "HLS providers do not require Gateway to accomplish their missions. Docking with orbiting platform came with performance penalties"
    • "PPE+HALO launch will likely be further delayed due to on-going HALO corrosion mitigation. Not expected to reach initial operational status until 2030+"
    • "Other Gateway modules also behind schedule, with significant technical challenges ahead: corrosion mitigation (same issues as with HALO), overweight, complex assembly sequence"
  • "Gateway Evolution" (slide 3): "Significant parts of existing Gateway hardware and facilities can be directly repurposed"; "Repurposing options include using PPE for other high-priority missions, existing communications HW on the Moon Base, HALO subsystems/components/structures on future Moon Base modules". "The NASA Gateway team will pivot to support Moon Base development efforts or other high priority initiatives", and NASA is "working with our international partners to … repurpose our partnerships towards building Moon Base."

See Gateway.

The phases (slides 5, 7, 18, 28)

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
Name (slide 5) "Secure reliable access to the surface and experiment" "Establish the initial Moon Base operating capability" "Achieve semi-permanent crew presence"
Start (slide 5) "Starts now" "Starts 2029" "Starts 2032"
Goals (slides 7, 18, 28) "Achieve high-rate, reliable surface access"; "Establish ground truth for Moon Base landing sites"; "Experiment and test capabilities"; "Complete first crewed Moon Base mission" "Secure initial site(s)"; "Establish initial lunar infrastructure"; "Increase CLPS lander payload mass capability to 5 MT"; "Technology demonstrations to enable lunar permanence"; "Semi-annual crewed missions" "Enable long-duration and -distance human exploration"; "Increase CLPS lander payload mass capability to 8 MT"; "Regolith manipulation & site preparation capable"; "Routine logistics deliveries from Earth"; "Initial uncrewed mission cargo return capabilities"

Figures and dates (slides 9, 20, 30)

Phase 1 (slide 9) Phase 2 (slide 20) Phase 3 (slide 30)
Date range in the box "Now through 2028" "2029–2033" "2033–2036"
Launches 25 27 29
Landings 21 24 28
Rovers not given 7 4
Payload to surface "~4,000 kg" "~60,000 kg" "~150,000 kg"
Other "Radioisotope heating units"; "2 lunar orbital comm satellite constellations" "Pressurized Rover, MoonFall drones, solar power stations, nuclear power demos, surface comm, science" "Rovers, habitats, logistics, fission surface power, science"

The deck's own dates don't agree with each other. Phase 1 starts "now" and runs "through 2028" (slide 9; the slide 17 table covers 2026 to 2028). Phase 2 "Starts 2029" (slide 5) and runs "2029–2033" by its figures box (slide 20), but its per-year table covers 2029 to 2032 (slide 27). Phase 3 "Starts 2032" (slide 5), but its figures box says "2033–2036" (slide 30). Recorded as printed (open question 5).

Per-year tables (slides 17 and 27)

Each table is headed "MOON BASE: PHASE 01" or "PHASE 02", with rows "YEAR", "INVESTMENT", "SURFACE & ORBITAL ASSETS", "LANDERS" and "LAUNCHES". Assets and landers are icons with counts; the tables have no legend. Where an icon is the same as one the deck labels elsewhere, the wiki names it that way (the wiki's match):

  • the rover with a mast is the icon slide 10 labels "VIPER"
  • the satellite is the icon slide 9 uses for "2 lunar orbital comm satellite constellations" and slide 10 for "Observation Satellites", so the wiki doesn't say which the counts are
  • the domed drone is slide 10's "MoonFall Drone"
  • the open buggy is slide 10's "Crewed LTV" and "Uncrewed LTV" icon, and the "rovers" icon of slides 20 and 30
  • the rounded vehicle is slide 21's "Pressurized Rover"

These names are the icons', not the assets'. The "VIPER icon" appears in every year from 2026 to 2031, seven times in all, so the wiki doesn't read those counts as VIPER itself. The deck doesn't say what they are.

Two icons match no labeled icon in slides 1–33 and are left unnamed: a gear, and a lander shown with a plume beneath it. The other lander icons differ by size (one, two or three stacked blocks) and are described by size only.

"MOON BASE: PHASE 01" (slide 17). Investment: "$10 BILLION" across 2026 to 2028.

Row 2026 2027 2028
Surface and orbital assets VIPER icon ×1 VIPER icon ×2; satellite ×5 VIPER icon ×1; satellite ×5; MoonFall icon ×4; LTV icon ×3
Landers small ×1; medium ×1 small ×8; medium ×1 small ×3; medium ×3; plume icon ×4
Launches ×2 ×10 ×12

"MOON BASE: PHASE 02" (slide 27). Investment: "$10 BILLION" across 2029 to 2032.

Row 2029 2030 2031 2032
Surface and orbital assets VIPER icon ×1; LTV icon ×1; gear ×2 MoonFall icon ×4; VIPER icon ×1; LTV icon ×1; gear ×2 VIPER icon ×1; Pressurized Rover icon ×1; gear ×3 LTV icon ×1; MoonFall icon ×4
Landers small ×1; plume icon ×1; medium ×3 small ×2; plume icon ×2; medium ×2 large ×1; plume icon ×3; medium ×3 large ×2; plume icon ×2; medium ×2
Launches ×6 ×7 ×7 ×7

Against the figures boxes (the wiki's sums of the printed counts):

  • Phase 2: the columns sum to 27 launches and 24 landings, slide 20's figures. Counting the VIPER, LTV and Pressurized Rover icons as rovers, they sum to 7, slide 20's "7 rovers".
  • Phase 1: the landers sum to 21, slide 9's figure. The launches sum to 24, not slide 9's 25.

The table gives one investment figure per phase, not per year. The wiki doesn't divide it.

Phase 1 assets and key missions (slides 10–16)

Labeled on the render (slide 10): "Navigation Capability", "Orbital Comm Relays", "Observation Satellites", "MoonFall Drone", "CLPS", "Human Landing System", "VIPER", "Uncrewed LTV", "Crewed LTV", "RHU Survive the Night".

  • Lunar Terrain Vehicles (slide 11): "Initial deployment of lunar crewed and uncrewed Lunar Terrain Vehicles (LTVs)": "Crewed vehicle to extend EVA traverse distances"; "Uncrewed vehicle for exploration and technology demonstration"; "2m x 1.7m x 1.9m (height)"; "500 kg maximum rover mass"; "Traverse slopes up to +/- 20 degrees"; "Survives up to 150 hours in shadow"; "Max speed 10 km/hr".
  • MoonFall Drones (slide 12): "Site surveillance and terrain surveying". "Deploy highly mobile drones over the lunar South Pole in a single launch architecture"; "Drones land themselves and are independent spacecraft"; "Ability to survey harder-to-reach terrain"; "Each drone capable of several propulsive hops covering up to 50km each in total"; "150 seconds launch to landing with a maximum altitude of 1km". "Hosts multiple payloads: Optical camera(s); Survive the night avionics demonstrations". The diagram labels attitude control, tanks, battery pack, solar panels, GPR, avionics and main engines.
  • Slide 13: a small lander on the surface, no caption or text.
  • Communications and Observation Satellites (slide 14): "Taking the world along as we establish and grow lunar surface operations at Moon Base". "Increase throughput to/from Earth to cislunar space >500 Mbps"; "Increase the number of available surface to orbit links"; "Increase throughput to/from the lunar surface"; "Test initial LunaNET interoperability standards".
  • VIPER (slide 15): "Mapping of water and volatiles for lunar resource prospecting". "1.7m x 1.7m x 2.5m"; "450 kg rover mass"; "100+ day mission traversing 30+ km"; "Survives up to 50 hours in shadow"; "Three spectrometers & one drill".
  • "Radioisotope Demos", a "Key capability" (slide 16): "Radioisotope heater units (RHUs) provide heat, allowing for survive the night capability during lunar surface operations". "Test updated nuclear fuel sources for increased reliability and safety for commercial use"; "Initial lander demonstrations will survive 120+ continuous hours of darkness and send a signal back to Earth"; "Enable future lunar assets to survive 354+ hours of local darkness".

Phase 2 assets and key missions (slides 21–26)

Labeled on the render (slide 21): "Solar Power Augmentation", "Nuclear Power/ Thermal", "Power Infrastructure", "Logistics Demo", "LTV Gen 2", "Surface Comm & Nav", "Pressurized Rover", "Excavator Rovers", "Site Prep & Logistics Rovers".

  • Pressurized Rover (slide 22): "In partnership with NASA, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Pressurized Rover contribution". "Mobile habitat to extend human exploration range"; "Supports two crew in shirt sleeve environment while also enabling surface EVAs"; "10-year design life"; "15,000 kg rover mass"; "Cargo mass 3,000 kg"; "Traverse slopes up to +/- 15 degrees"; "Survives up to 150 hours in shadow"; "Max speed 3.5 km/hr". Image credit "JAXA/Toyota".
  • Solar Power Augmentation (slide 23): "Demonstrate and deploy solar power augmentation systems with energy storage and distribution". "Early demonstration of solar array deployment, battery systems, & power distribution hub"; "Deploy solar array stations for permanent infrastructure": "10 kW+ during illumination", "360 kWh during shadow".
  • Surface Communications (slide 24): "Establish and expand surface network to enable more throughput and connections". "Deploy dedicated surface-to-orbital communication stations" that "Integrate/aggregate comm for other assets"; "Deploy surface communication system to enable direct communication across lunar surface": "Enables asset-to-asset communication", "~10km range".
  • Site Preparation and Logistics Rovers (slide 25): "Rovers deployed to enable site preparation, regolith manipulation, and initial logistics capabilities". "NASA LTV Gen 2"; "Other industry and international rovers for: Logistics & cargo; Site preparation; Excavation & compaction". The photo of a test rover has no caption.
  • "Nuclear Surface Power Capability", a "Key capability" (slide 26): "Demonstrate nuclear surface power capabilities". "Demonstrate technologies, processes, and operations for future larger scale nuclear power/propulsion"; "Demonstrate thermal management concepts and methods for larger scale future applications"; "Used as power generation stations"; "Used within assets to enable night survival and permanently shadowed region exploration"; "Demonstrate reactor surface power". It names no reactor or project.

Phase 3 assets and key missions (slides 31–33)

Labeled on the render (slide 31): "Cargo Return", "Fission Surface Power", "Logistics", "ISRU", "Habitats" (twice), "Power Distribution".

  • Logistics (slide 32): "End-to-end logistics services in support of crewed operations". "Deployment, operation, and disposal of systems needed to deliver, transfer, sustain, utilize, and dispose of logistics items needed to support crew on the lunar surface". "Example of mass needed: ~8,000 kg of carriers, consumables, and other items to support a 4crew, 28-day mission."
  • Habitats (slide 33): "Enable a continuous human presence with increased habitable volume and floor space". "Multiple habitable volumes across multiple site locations"; "Various capabilities and needs, including: ECLSS; Surface mating; Airlocks"; "Expands surface science and utilization capabilities"; "Increase Earth-independent operations".

Against the Users Guide and the fact sheet

  • Figures. All nine launch, landing and payload figures are the Users Guide's p. 4 figures. Here each set sits in a box with a date range, and Phase 2's per-year table sums to its box (above). See Phases and open question 6.
  • Goals. Phase 1's four goals are the guide's, with "Complete" added to "first crewed Moon Base mission". Phase 2 adds "Secure initial site(s)" and "to enable lunar permanence"; the guide has "Establish initial lunar surface infrastructure", the deck "lunar infrastructure". Phase 3 adds "Enable long-duration and -distance human exploration" and "Routine logistics deliveries from Earth", and has no equivalent of the guide's "Continuous Crew Presence"; slide 5 names Phase 3 "Achieve semi-permanent crew presence".
  • Names. A fifth set; see Phases and open question 76.
  • Dates. The web pages and the Building the Moon Base fact sheet give Now–2029, 2029–2032 and 2032 onward. The deck's start years (slide 5) agree; its figure boxes end Phase 1 in 2028 and run Phase 2 to 2033 (above).
  • MoonFall in Phase 2. Slide 20 lists "MoonFall drones" in Phase 2's payload, and the Phase 2 table has the MoonFall icon in 2030 and 2032. The fact sheet's "advanced MoonFall drones" in Phase 2 agrees; the phases page lists MoonFall in Phase One only.
  • Pressurized Rover in Phase 2. Slides 20, 21 and 22 put JAXA's Pressurized Rover in Phase 2, and the table has its icon in 2031, as the release and the phases page do. The fact sheet lists "Operating pressurized rovers" under Phase 3 (open question 81).
  • Radioisotope units. Slide 9 says "Radioisotope heating units", slide 16 "Radioisotope heater units (RHUs)". The fact sheet has "nuclear RHU demonstrations" in Phase 1 without expanding RHU; the deck expands it. The guide's Phase 1 power target names "radioisotope thermal generators" (see Needs). The power table (slide 54) puts RHU demonstrations in Phase 1 and RTG power stations in Phase 2, as the fact sheet does ("RTGs" among Phase 2's power stations); assets "begin routinely using RHUs & RTGs" in Phase 2. The guide, which is newer, names RTGs in its Phase 1 target. The wiki records both and keeps the guide as the reference.
  • Phase 3 figures. The Phase 3 table (slide 36) sums to the guide's 29 launches and 28 landings over 2033–2036, so the guide's Phase 3 figures are per phase too, as the deck lays the phases out. The fact sheet's Phase 3 is "up to 38 tons of cargo per year" (open question 6).
  • Phase 3 logistics. Slide 62's "Up to eight metric tons per 28-day mission" and slide 32's "~8,000 kg … to support a 4crew, 28-day mission" are the same order of figure; the fact sheet's Phase 3 has "advanced logistics networks".
  • Habitats. The fact sheet's Phase 2 lists "habitation" and its Phase 3 "semi-permanent habitation modules with spacious interior volume". The deck has "Demo Habitation" in Phase 2 ("Early pressurized module(s) with minimal environmental control and life support systems supported by external power") and "Initial surface habitats > 100 m³" in Phase 3 (slide 62).
  • Communications. The guide's Phase 1 C&PNT target is "Deployment of a second orbital relay constellation with surface imaging capabilities and lunar surface ground stations to enable > 500Mbps capability" (p. 8). The fact sheet has relay and observation satellites in Phase 1 and "surface-to-orbit communications stations" in Phase 2. The deck has an "initial 5-satellite constellation", a "second provider constellation" and "Add observation capability" in Phase 1, permanent surface "cell towers" and a clock demonstration in Phase 2, and "Clock ensembles – persistent time broadcast" in Phase 3 (slide 51). The deck's second constellation with observation and the guide's second constellation with surface imaging are on the same subject; the pairing is the wiki's.
  • Procurements. The Ignition page lists the same RFIs, RFPs and task orders; the deck's timeline (slide 63) gives their 2026 dates. The LTV award on "5 / 22" is the deck's plan; see Lunar Terrain Vehicle for what was awarded.

Against ADD Rev C (the wiki's comparison)

  • Gateway. A Rev C element (Gateway); here "not required" for the landing or the Moon Base, with its hardware to be repurposed. The Ignition release already said NASA intends to "pause Gateway in its current form".
  • Lunar Terrain Vehicle and Pressurized Rover are Rev C elements; the deck adds specifications and an "LTV Gen 2" in Phase 2. See Lunar Terrain Vehicle and Pressurized Rover.
  • "Test initial LunaNET interoperability standards" (slide 14) is a Phase 1 task; Rev C's LunaNet material is on RT-7 and SCaN Networks.
  • Crew and stay. Slide 32's sizing example is "4crew, 28-day". Rev C's legacy decisions LD-06-L and LD-07-L are "up to four crew members during an integrated mission" and surface stays "of up to 33 consecutive Earth days for initial segments" (Key definition tasks); the example sits within both, so the wiki doesn't count it as a change.
  • Cadence. Phase 2's goal is "Semi-annual crewed missions" (slide 18), as in the Users Guide (p. 4). Rev C's legacy decision LD-05-L is "integrated … crew missions on an annual cadence" (Key definition tasks). Neither the deck nor the guide mentions LD-05-L. Key definition tasks already sets the Going Back to the Moon fact sheet's "semi-annual crewed lunar missions after Artemis V" against it, with Appendix C's allowance for "surges of up to two missions each year"; the deck's goal is the same case.
  • Human-Class Delivery Lander. Slide 47 names "Human-class Delivery Landers", "Drawing on the Human Landing System for cargo", and slide 42 attaches "HDL" to landers. Rev C's element of almost the same name is implemented by the HLS Program. Matching them is the wiki's match, by name; see Human-Class Delivery Lander.
  • Gateway is attached to logistics and habitation on slide 42, not to transportation.
  • Fission. Rev C's Lunar Nuclear Fission System is an FE element. The deck has "Demonstrate reactor surface power" in Phase 2 and "Fission Surface Power" in Phase 3 (slides 53–54), and names no reactor.
  • ISRU. Rev C allocates no ISRU function to any element (ISRU Systems). The deck has ISRU "experiment & demo" in Phases 1 and 2 and "begin implementation" in Phase 3 (slide 35), with no element or program named.
  • Lunar time. The deck's clock demonstration (Phase 2) and "persistent time broadcast" (Phase 3) are on the subject of Rev C's lunar time scale, FN-C-205 L, which Rev C lists as unallocated (Human Lunar Return); the pairing is the wiki's.

Oddities

  • Slide 1 calls García-Galán "Moon Base Program Executive"; his staff page says Program Manager.
  • The text layer drops the second MoonFall payload, "Survive the night avionics demonstrations", which the slide 12 image shows; and it carries "Full Gateway Render" on slide 2, which the image doesn't show (an image label).
  • In the slide 17 image, the 2027 count of small landers reads "x 8" in a glyph that looks overwritten. The wiki reads it as 8, which makes the landers sum to slide 9's 21. Slide 37 prints the same count plainly as "x 8".
  • "4crew" (slide 32) as printed.
  • The deck differs with itself in slides 34–65 (none acted on; open question 83):
    • 2036 launches: "x 8" on slide 36, "x 7" on slide 37.
    • CS-8's class: "smaller science payloads (<100 kg)" on slide 48, "Science Payload Delivery (150 kg Class) [CS-8]" on slide 63.
    • Site preparation and logistics rovers: a Phase 2 key mission (slide 25), labeled "Phase 1 Site Preparation & Logistics" on slide 56; slide 57's Phase 1 LTVs include autonomous rovers for "site preparation demonstration".
    • Cargo return in Phase 3: "implement capability with mass goal of 500 kg" (slide 34), "Demo med/large cargo return … Goal: 500 kg" (slide 62).
    • Phase dates: the per-year tables (slides 36–37) run Phase 3 over 2033–2036, against slide 5's "Starts 2032".
  • Slide 59's header reads "TRANSPORATION"; slide 63 has "RPF" in the MoonFall row.

Phases · Missions and assets · Moon Base needs · Gateway · Lunar Terrain Vehicle · Pressurized Rover · CLPS · Human-Class Delivery Lander · Lunar Nuclear Fission System · Initial Surface Habitat · SCaN Networks · gaps #0101, #0103, #0301, #0505, #0601, #0603, #0604, #0605, #0801, #0901, #0903 · data gaps DN-017 L, DN-018 L · Building the Moon Base fact sheet · Ignition deck 1 · Ignition page