NASA announced three new Moon missions on May 26, 2026, as part of its efforts to establish a permanent American presence on the lunar surface by the end of 2026. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated during a news conference that these missions are part of a long-term plan to create a lunar outpost, referred to as "Moon Base," which will support sustained astronaut missions and future exploration of Mars.
The missions will test commercial landers, autonomous vehicles, and lunar surface operations ahead of longer astronaut missions under the Artemis program. The first mission, Moon Base I, will utilize Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander to deliver science payloads to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge near the lunar south pole, with a targeted launch no earlier than fall 2026.
Moon Base II will send Astrobotic’s Griffin lander to the lunar surface carrying over 500 kilograms of cargo, including Astrolab’s FLEX rover, which aims to assist in developing astronaut mobility systems. Moon Base III will carry NASA’s Lunar Vertex science mission to study lunar swirls and will include payloads from the European Space Agency and the Korean Space Agency. Both Moon Base II and Moon Base III are expected to launch before the end of 2026.
NASA officials indicated that these three missions are the first of more than a dozen planned Moon Base missions as the agency works towards a sustained lunar presence. The first phase of the effort will involve 25 launches, 21 lunar landings, and the delivery of approximately four metric tons of cargo to the Moon. Additionally, NASA announced new lunar terrain vehicle awards for Astrolab and Lunar Outpost, along with the development of "Moonfall" drones designed to scout landing zones and search for subsurface water ice near the lunar south pole. Isaacman emphasized that NASA is using an iterative approach similar to the Apollo-era strategy to rapidly test technologies before establishing permanent habitation.