Building NASA's moon base starts with these lunar lander missions

NASA has unveiled more lunar landers that will chart a path to the moon in the years ahead before astronauts even step foot on the surface for the first time in decades.

Another three commercial aerospace companies were awarded about $600 million to land spacecraft on the moon that will pave the way for humans to return more than 50 years after the final Apollo mission came to an end. Each lander would be loaded up with technology that will allow NASA to analyze the lunar surface and establish the foundation for the space agency's unprecedented moon base , NASA officials said at a June 30 press conference.

The lunar outpost would mark the first time that humans can live and work longterm on another world beyond Earth.

NASA's latest update on its Moon Base initiative comes weeks after it unveiled the  crew for the next mission  under its Artemis program.

Those four astronauts  are due in 2027 to fly to Earth orbit in a critical mission testing docking capabilities with two commercial lunar landers. A follow-up to the historic  Artemis II mission in April , Artemis III would precede the first human moon landing in more than half-a-century.

Here's everything to know about NASA's moon base, and the agency's latest update on the endeavor.

Moon missions: Here's everything to know about NASA's plans for a moon base

What is NASA's moon base?

NASA leaders have previously announced plans to construct a $20 billion moon base toward the largely unexplored lunar south pole. The base would come together across three phases during uncrewed and crewed missions  to deliver vehicles, equipment and infrastructure to the moon.

Once completed, the base would be where astronauts could live and work longterm with the dual objectives of studying the moon while also helping NASA learn how best to send the first humans to Mars .

NASA announces 3 more lunar lander missions

NASA on June 30 unveiled three more lunar lander missions that will be integral as the agency looks to construct its moon base. The missions are targeted for 2028, NASA officials said in a press release .

All three commercial aerospace companies were awarded multimillion-dollar contracts under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative (CLPS.) Here's a look:

• Astrobotic Technology , a Pittsburgh-based aerospace company, was awarded $297.9 million for two lunar lander missions using its Peregrine lander, which failed to reach the moon in 2024.

• Firefly Aerospace , based in Cedar Park, Texas, was awarded $144.2 million for one mission with its Blue Ghost lander , which already made it to the moon in 2025.

• Intuitive Machines , an aerospace company based in Houston, was awarded $148.3 million for one landing.

Each of the three lunar landers manufactured by the companies will carry technology like cameras that will help create models to predict lunar dust erosion caused by exhaust from landers during landings; laser beam technology that can transmit orbit positions of orbiters and landers to help in navigation; and spectrometers characterizing the radiation hitting the lunar surface so that NASA can design safer crewed missions.

Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines already selected for 2026 missions

Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lunar lander – versions of which have already landed on the moon twice to varying degrees of success – and Astrobotic's Griffin lander have already been selected for NASA missions in 2026, along with Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander .

Firefly Aerospace, meanwhile, is also under a $75 million contract to build its  Elytra spacecraft  that will transport a fleet of  NASA's Moonfall drones to the moon that will survey for landing sites for astronauts.

NASA additionally announced at a previous press conference at the end of May that it had awarded contracts to two companies to develop lunar rovers for astronauts to drive on the moon. Colorado-based Lunar Outpost and Astrolab of Hawthorne, California, will each receive about $220 million to build vehicles to ensure a rover will be ready on the moon before astronauts return  as early as 2028  under the Artemis IV mission.

What's next under the Artemis program?

Following the trailblazing Artemis II crewed mission in April, NASA is already making preparations for the next mission under the lunar campaign, the ultimate objective of which is to land humans back to the moon.

Due for 2027, Artemis III aims to send a new crew of astronauts – NASA's Randy Bresnik, Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio, as well as the European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano – on an Orion vehicle to Earth orbit, where they will spend two weeks testing spacesuits and docking capabilities with two commercial lunar landers. Those landers are Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander, and SpaceX's Starship HLS (human landing system).

The mission is a complex one involving three separate rocket launches – NASA's SLS, Blue Origin's New Glenn and SpaceX's Starship – to get all three spacecraft to orbit.

A successful test mission would set the stage for the first human moon landing under the program during Artemis IV. Targeted for 2028, the mission would be the first time humans set foot on the moon since NASA's iconic Apollo era ended in 1972.

NASA views the moon program as a vital stepping stone to eventually send the first crewed expeditions to Mars .

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Building NASA's moon base starts with these lunar lander missions