The Digester
science

NASA unveils decade plan of frequent lunar missions to prepare Moon base

NASA outlined a three phase campaign of dozens of launches and hundreds of thousands of pounds of cargo over the next decade to survey sites, deploy infrastructure, and enable a sustained human presence on the Moon.

Apr 2nd 2026 · United States

Insights

  • NASA presented a three phase plan from now to 2036 to increase lunar surface access and prepare for a permanent base.
  • Phase one through 2028 calls for about 25 launches and roughly 8,000 pounds of payload to survey sites and build routine surface access.
  • Phase two from 2028 to 2032 plans about 27 launches, seven rovers, and about 120,000 pounds of cargo to establish initial infrastructure and support two crewed missions per year.
  • Phase three from 2033 to 2036 aims for about 29 launches and over 300,000 pounds of payload to deploy habitats, power systems, and logistics for long duration operations.
  • NASA said it expects a near monthly cadence of robotic landings starting as soon as next year and as many as 10 lunar spacecraft in 2027.
  • The agency plans to rely heavily on commercial partners and move away from the Space Launch System after Artemis 5 in favor of commercially procured and reusable hardware.

Sources