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Although the size can reach hundreds of square kilometers, it is not a metropolis with buildings and avenues. The comparison with a city comes from the project’s own architect, who explains: the hostile terrain requires spreading out habitats, reactors, and laboratories over a huge area, instead of concentrating them.
NASA detailed the plan to build a permanent base near the south pole of the Moon, so extensive that it could resemble a city in size. The project, part of the Artemis program, envisions the first steps as early as 2028 and aims to keep astronauts living and working on the natural satellite continuously from the next decade, marking a shift in space exploration towards permanence.
The details were presented by the American space agency at a press conference held on May 26, 2026, at its headquarters in Washington, weeks after the success of the Artemis II mission, which took astronauts to fly over the Moon. Before imagining a lunar metropolis, however, a clarification is needed: the comparison with a city refers to the physical extension of the base, and not to skyscrapers or streets, and the disclosed timelines are ambitious goals, subject to the common delays in large space programs.
Why the base would be the size of a city
According to NASA, the base could extend over hundreds of square kilometers because there is no single location on the Moon capable of meeting all the needs of science, technology, and habitation at the same time, which requires spreading the structures across the terrain.
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The chief architect of the program, Nujoud Merancy, explained the reasoning. The habitats would be on top of hills to receive sunlight, while the energy systems, including nuclear reactors, would need to be a kilometer or more away due to radiation. “When you start putting all these things together, they end up spreading out a bit more, like a city, as you build,” said Merancy. In other words, the comparison is about geographical dispersion, not about a populated metropolis.
The first phase begins in 2028
NASA’s plan is divided into three major stages, and the first already has a start date. The initial phase, which extends until around 2029, focuses on mapping the lunar south pole, ensuring reliable access to the surface, and collecting environmental data through robotic missions with drones and unmanned vehicles, before any actual construction.
In this stage, the hopping drones from the MoonFall project are planned, which will jump across the surface to map hard-to-reach areas and mark points for the future base, launched in 2028 by a module from the company Firefly Aerospace. New lunar vehicles, developed by companies like Astrolab and Lunar Outpost, and landing modules from Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, also come into play. Some of this equipment may even operate remotely, controlled from Earth, before the astronauts arrive.
The following phases until continuous presence
After the mapping, comes the actual construction. The second phase, planned for the period between 2029 and 2032, aims to secure the initial base locations, establish the necessary infrastructure for longer stays, and conduct semi-annual manned missions to the Moon, gradually bringing the idea of living on the satellite closer.
The third phase, starting in 2032, would increase the number of launches to establish a continuous human presence on the lunar surface, with the goal, according to NASA, of reaching a permanent nuclear-powered outpost over the decade. The agency itself acknowledges that the plan is “very ambitious,” and does so deliberately, but it is precisely this ambition that requires caution when treating the dates as guaranteed.
Why specifically the lunar south pole
The choice of location is not by chance and has a valuable reason. The lunar south pole is one of the least understood regions of the satellite and harbors large amounts of water ice, accumulated over billions of years at the bottom of permanently shadowed craters, a precious resource for any lasting human settlement.
This ice could, in theory, be transformed into drinking water, oxygen to breathe, and even rocket fuel, reducing the need to bring everything from Earth, which is extremely expensive. Therefore, mastering the lunar south pole is seen as strategic not only for science but to economically enable human permanence in space, making the region the most coveted point of the new race to the Moon.
A new space race
The ambitious American plan does not happen in a vacuum, in geopolitical terms. NASA accelerated its lunar plans amid a new space race, in which China also targets the Moon’s south pole and plans to take its own astronauts to the satellite by the end of this decade, adding a component of strategic competition between the two powers.
The program also heavily relies on the private space industry, with billion-dollar contracts for companies like Blue Origin, SpaceX, Firefly, and others, in a model that divides tasks between the agency and the private sector to accelerate and reduce the cost of the endeavor. It is a paradigm shift from the Apollo mission era, showing that lunar exploration now aims for permanence, not just quick and symbolic visits.
NASA’s plan to establish a permanent city-sized base at the Moon’s south pole is undoubtedly one of the most audacious projects in modern space exploration. If completed on schedule, it would mark the moment when humanity stops merely visiting the Moon and begins to live on it continuously. But, like every great space dream, it is necessary to follow it with enthusiasm and, at the same time, with feet on the ground, remembering that such ambitious timelines often face delays. In any case, the next decade promises to be historic for those who have always dreamed of seeing humans living among the stars.
And you, do you believe that NASA will really be able to build a permanent base on the Moon by the next decade? Would you agree to live on the satellite if you had the chance? Leave your comment, tell us what you think of this new space race, and share the article with those who dream of exploring space and are enchanted by the future of humanity beyond Earth.
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