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Lunar Surface Technology: NASA web page

Page: https://www.nasa.gov/lunar-surface-technology/. No "updated" date on the page; its images were uploaded in April–May 2026. Fetched 2026-10-01T06:23:22Z. File: sources/moon-base/nasa-gov-lunar-surface-technology.md.

Summary. This is NASA's technology-side page for the Moon Base. It is organized by nine technology capability areas:

  1. surface power
  2. thermal
  3. autonomous systems and robotics
  4. dust mitigation
  5. excavation and construction
  6. communications, position, navigation and timing
  7. in-situ resource utilization (ISRU)
  8. advanced avionics
  9. environments

For most areas it names the NASA projects and commercial (Tipping Point) investments under way. It also links the 2026 Civil Space Shortfall List and the July 2024 shortfall ranking; neither has been fetched.

Key points

  • Framing (intro): "Similar to when we build a new neighborhood here on Earth, we'll need abundant power, water, landing pads and roads". Technologies are "tested on Earth, in simulated lunar gravity, and on the Moon".
  • Quick facts ("Quick Facts"):
    • The Electrodynamic Dust Shield worked on the Moon on Blue Ghost Mission 1 (2025).
    • Five Space Tech payloads flew on CLPS in 2025.
    • During a 2025 lunar-gravity flight test with Blue Origin, "seven surface infrastructure technologies studied regolith mechanics and lunar dust transport in a simulated lunar gravity environment".
    • Nokia's 4G/LTE system powered up on the Moon in 2025.
    • Regenerative fuel cells combined with vertical solar arrays could supply "10KW of power to permanently shadowed regions".
  • Lunar Reactor-1 ("Fission Surface Power"): "the first fission nuclear reactor on the Moon, will land on the lunar surface in 2030".

  • Temperature ranges ("Environments", "Thermal Technology"):

    • noon up to 302 °F and night down to −292 °F (equator)
    • PSRs down to −418 °F, and "near -250°C"

    These differ from the PSR figure on the Moon Base reference pages; see open questions.

  • IPEx excavation figures: "Quick Facts" says "10 metric tons of lunar regolith over the course of 100 meters and 11 days", while "Excavation and Construction" says "on the order of 20 metric tons of lunar regolith over a single mission". See open questions.

The projects are listed by area on Surface technology.

Surface technology · Environment · Moon Base hub