Moon Base Systems¶
Page: https://www.nasa.gov/moonbase-systems/. Undated; its images were uploaded in May 2026 (paths
2026/05/…). The Administrator said the Moon Base website "launched just an hour ago" on 26 May 2026
(speech); that
this page went up then is the wiki's reading, not stated. Fetched
2026-10-02T04:02:32Z. File: sources/moon-base/nasa-gov-moonbase-systems.md; the raw HTML is
sources/raw/moon-base/nasa-gov-moonbase-systems.html.
Summary. "Some of the major systems planned to support NASA's Moon Base initiative", and "how these systems are expected to evolve through each phase of Moon Base development". Five systems (Mobility; Communications, Positioning, Navigation, Timing; Habitation; Power; Logistics), each with a one-line definition and a block of bullets per phase. Read side by side with Ignition deck 2's capability slides (the wiki's comparison; neither cites the other), it follows them closely, with fewer areas and some vehicle figures the deck doesn't give; the comparison is on Phases.
Extraction note. The text file loses the phase headings: each block starts with an empty ###. They are
accordion headings in the raw HTML ("Phase One", "Phase Two", "Phase Three"), checked there for every block, so
every block below has its phase from the page itself. Habitation and Logistics have no Phase One block.
Key points¶
| System | NASA's definition | Phases with a block |
|---|---|---|
| Mobility | "Systems to move crew and cargo around the lunar surface and between Moon Base components" | One, Two, Three |
| Communications, Positioning, Navigation, Timing | "Systems to transmit data, commands, and timing information between lunar assets and Earth" | One, Two, Three |
| Habitation | "Habitable volumes and supporting systems ensuring the health and performance of astronauts in controlled environments of Moon Base" | Two, Three |
| Power | "Systems to generate, store, condition, and distribute electricity for the Moon Base" | One, Two, Three |
| Logistics | "Systems related to the packaging, handling, transportation, storage, and transfer of cargo for the Moon Base" | Two, Three |
- Mobility, Phase One: VIPER and MoonFall "to conduct science, reconnaissance, and resource discovery"; crewed and uncrewed LTVs. Uncrewed LTVs: "basic autonomy and teleoperations, operate for a minimum of one year, and travel at least 497 miles (800 kilometers)". Crewed LTVs: "at least one year of operational life and traverse distances of 559 miles (900 kilometers) or more, including at least 62 miles (100 kilometers) of additional crewed traverses". Both: "traverse slopes of up to 20 degrees, survive up to 150 hours in shadow, and operate at speeds up to six miles (10 kilometers) per hour". Then the May 2026 release's LTV awards, rover figures and Blue Origin delivery task orders, nearly word for word (May 2026 release).
- Mobility, Phase Two: LTVs "with enhanced reliability, expanded logistics and science payload capacity, and regolith manipulation demonstration capabilities"; partner opportunities ("science rovers, landing and habitation site preparation rover demonstrations, power cable deployment rover demonstrations, initial logistics transfer rovers, and enhanced robotic manipulation capabilities"); JAXA's pressurized rover, "Designed to support two astronauts in a shirt-sleeve environment for up to 30 days", "an approximate 10-year lifespan, traverse slopes up to 15 degrees, survive as many as 150 hours in shadow, and reach speeds of up to two miles (3.5 kilometers) per hour".
- Mobility, Phase Three: LTVs "designed for long-duration service life, logistics transfer, robotic manipulation, permanently shadowed region exploration, and regolith handling"; partner rovers for site preparation, cable deployment, "logistics and utility transport" and robotic manipulation.
- Communications, Phase One: "an initial five-satellite orbital relay constellation supporting communications, positioning, navigation, and timing services, followed by the addition of a second provider constellation"; a "Mature LunaNet interoperability baseline". Phase Two: "lunar surface communications infrastructure"; "demonstrations of lunar timing technologies". Phase Three: "a coordinated lunar network"; infrastructure "across broader regions of the lunar surface"; "Persistent timing and navigation services enabled through advanced clock and time-broadcast systems".
- Habitation, Phase Two: "initial pressurized modules designed to support short-duration stays", to "demonstrate early environmental control and life support capabilities". Phase Three: "100-cubic-meter-class modules, airlocks, and module aggregation nodes".
- Power, Phase One: "self-supported power generation and survival" and RHU demonstrations. Phase Two: "solar array and radioisotope power stations"; routine RHU and RTG use; demonstrations of "wireless rover charging, dust-tolerant electrical connectors, and robotic electrical cable deployment". Phase Three: "operational fission surface power systems capable of providing steady, reliable energy through long lunar nights", expanded distribution, and the Phase Two demonstrations as capabilities.
- Logistics, Phase Two: "deployment of cargo modules to the lunar surface, early surface mating operations and initial small-scale cargo return". Phase Three: "a goal of delivering up to eight metric tons per 28-day mission"; "sustained small cargo return capabilities and demonstrations of medium- to large-scale cargo return systems targeting up to 500 kilograms of returned material".
What it doesn't say¶
- No ADD element, function or gap ID. It names the LTV, the pressurized rover, VIPER and MoonFall.
- No ISRU system and no observation satellites, both in Ignition deck 2; no Phase Two reactor demonstration (the deck's "Demonstrate reactor surface power"). Absences, not changes (see Phases).
- The "Moon Base User's Guide" card links to
https://www.nasa.gov, not to the guide.
Related pages¶
Phases · Lunar Terrain Vehicle · Pressurized Rover · Initial Surface Habitat · Lunar Nuclear Fission System · Ignition deck 2 · Moon Base hub