Nasa is planning to make manned trips to the lunar surface every six months from 2028 as part of efforts to lay the groundwork for a permanent Moon base.

The agency said it would begin to incorporate more commercially procured and reusable hardware in its lunar trips in a bid to lower the cost of the Artemis programme. Artemis was formally established in 2017 and launched its first uncrewed mission in November 2022 using the long-delayed super heavy-lift launch rocket Space Launch System.

Artemis II, the programme’s first crewed flight, was originally planned to take place in 2024, followed by a crewed landing on the Moon for Artemis III in 2025. However, in December 2024 the agency confirmed it would target April 2026 for Artemis II and mid-2027 for Artemis III, which will now involve the crew conducting tests in low-Earth orbit with commercially developed lunar landers, but without touching down on the Moon’s surface.

Artemis IV, which is scheduled for 2028, will now be the third crewed mission and first lunar landing of the Artemis programme, marking the first time humans have stepped foot on the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Nasa also announced a new approach to building a permanent base on the Moon, which will see it pausing the Lunar Gateway initiative – a proposed space station assembled in orbit around the Moon – in favour of shifting focus to infrastructure that enables sustained surface operations.

In the first phase, Nasa plans to drop a series of technology demonstrators on the lunar surface including rovers, instruments, power generation and tools to aid in scientific investigations. It will then move towards building “semi‑habitable infrastructure” and regular logistics before cargo‑capable human landing systems come online.

In another major announcement, Nasa said it will launch the Space Reactor‑1 Freedom to Mars before the end of 2028, which will be the first nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft. In particular, the craft should demonstrate the capabilities of advanced nuclear electric propulsion in deep space. 

When SR-1 Freedom reaches Mars, it will deploy the Skyfall payload of Ingenuity‑class helicopters that will enable broad exploration of the Red Planet.

“Nasa is committed to achieving the near‑impossible once again,” said Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman. “The clock is running in this great‑power competition, and success or failure will be measured in months, not years.

“If we concentrate Nasa’s extraordinary resources on the objectives of the National Space Policy, clear away needless obstacles that impede progress, and unleash the workforce and industrial might of our nation and partners, then returning to the Moon and building a base will pale in comparison to what we will be capable of accomplishing in the years ahead.”