No more footprints and flagpoles. This time around, NASA aims to stake lunar soil with something a little more permanent -- a long-term scientific and exploratory outpost. The agency anticipates that four-person crews will start making one-week visits to the moon in 2020, supplemented by robotic cargo drops. A permanent base and rotating six-month astronaut duty tours will follow in 2024.
The base will be located in the vicinity of one of the poles, where near constant sunlight can provide solar power. NASA is already eyeing a spot on the rim of the south pole region's Shackleton crater, which is close to permanently shaded areas that may harbor ice. Frozen water could theoretically be processed into oxygen for the crew and liquid oxygen and hydrogen for rockets.
The lunar lander that will transport astronauts from the Crew Exploration Vehicle to the surface will be a versatile space pickup truck -- a vehicle that can also haul cargo and operate robotically. On the ground, crews will use long-range pressurized rovers as well as robotic digger/processors that can turn lunar soil into water, oxygen and fuel.
The design and layout of the base itself are "wide-open," NASA says, to be determined to some extent by international and commercial partners. Further down the road, in the 2030 to 2040 time frame, a lunar base could serve as a fuel-manufacturing facility for a Mars mission. And the technological lessons learned could be applied to building an outpost on Mars.
style="margin-left:120px; font-size:9pt; font-weight:bold; border:thin solid #666666;">
Mission to the Moon: How We'll Go Back and Stay This Time