Q24N (InfoBae) The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has decided to entrust Jeff Bezos and his company Blue Origin to take the first step in building a lunar base, as part of a plan that envisions collaborating with private companies to establish the first permanent human colony on the surface of the Moon within the next decade.
The first concrete step in this program involves sending unmanned robotic missions to establish the technical and logistical foundations for future human operations. Initial responsibility falls to Blue Origin, which will lead the pioneering mission and lay the groundwork for the lunar infrastructure.
What will the first NASA mission for Jeff Bezos’s company be like?
Between September and November, NASA and Blue Origin plan to send an unmanned lunar lander, the Mark One Endurance, developed by Bezos’s company, to the Moon.
The mission’s destination is the Shackleton crater ridge at the lunar south pole, a strategic region due to the presence of ice and resources essential for human habitation.
The project, called Moon Base One, will be the first privately funded lunar lander mission in history. In addition to carrying two NASA scientific payloads, the key objective is to demonstrate critical capabilities that will reduce risk for future Human Landing System missions.
The choice of Blue Origin and its module responds to the need for proven and adaptable technology for extreme environments, as well as the company’s ability to develop solutions tailored to lunar challenges.
NASA has entrusted Bezos with leading the program’s first lunar flight, in a context where technological competition includes SpaceX, led by Elon Musk.
This is how the launches to the Moon will work.
The initial phase of the program envisions three uncrewed robotic missions to the lunar surface before the end of 2026.
Following Blue Origin’s mission, the second will be carried out by Astrobotic Technology, which will send a lander capable of carrying more than 500 kilograms of cargo, including a rover, to the Moon. The third mission will be led by Intuitive Machines, with the goal of investigating the Moon’s magnetic anomalies.
The plan envisions the transfer of more than 4 tons of equipment in 25 launches and 21 lunar landings by 2029. This logistical deployment is crucial for establishing the foundations of future lunar infrastructure and for testing the technologies that will enable human life and work on the Moon.
Among the main challenges are survival in an environment where temperatures can reach 120°C during the day and drop below -120°C at night, as well as generating and storing sufficient energy.
According to Spanish scientist Carlos García Galán, head of the Moon Base program, the energy strategy combines the use of solar and nuclear power, with a planned capacity of between 2 and 15 kilowatts, and up to 20 kilowatts if a nuclear system is used, along with hundreds of kilowatt-hours of storage.
How the Lunar Base Will Be Built
The construction of the lunar base is divided into three main stages. The first, underway with the missions announced for this year and the coming years, is dedicated to testing and learning about prolonged survival in harsh conditions.
The goal is to colonize the lunar south pole, an area with two-week nights and extremely low temperatures, where scientific research and technological development will be crucial.
During this phase, NASA plans to deploy vehicles and drones so astronauts can move around and study the region. From 2026 to 2029, 21 missions will be launched to the lunar surface to complete the initial reconnaissance and prepare the ground for the next stage.
The second phase, planned for 2029 to 2032, will involve 27 launches and 24 additional landings. Sixty tons of equipment will be transported to establish the initial infrastructure of the base and enable semi-annual crewed missions.
In the third stage, with 29 launches and 28 landings, up to 150 tons of equipment will be transported, solidifying a continuous human presence on the Moon.