NASA releases the lunar base three-phase blueprint: construction of permanent human habitats to begin in 2030

NASA Administrator Isaacman for the first time systematically and publicly laid out a three-phase lunar base plan on a Bloomberg program: robots will arrive first in 2028, followed by humans, but he stressed that “glass dome lunar base services” are not the current objective—and that the base must be built step by step in a practical, grounded way.
(Background: After half a century, humans are once again heading to the Moon! NASA’s Artemis II crewed lunar flyby launches on 4/2—watch the free live stream of the launch.)
(Additional background: F2Pool co-founder Wang Chun will become SpaceX’s crewed flight commander, explaining “why choose Mars, not the Moon.”)

Robots go first; humans follow. In an interview with Bloomberg Tech, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman outlined a three-stage construction blueprint for a lunar base, with a timeline stretching from 2026 into the 2030s, and the opening move of the entire plan is to set up the infrastructure before any astronaut even sets foot on the lunar surface.

Three stages, a gradual route

In the interview, Isaacman explained that the plan will be carried out in three distinct phases.

Phase One (2026-2029): Deploy initial infrastructure. NASA has awarded key contracts to Firefly Aerospace, which will build the spacecraft responsible for delivering drones to the Moon, with a target launch date in 2028. Robotic systems will be the first to prepare the lunar environment, waiting for humans to arrive.

Phase Two (from 2029 to the early 2030s): Establish permanent infrastructure, including a power grid, to provide the basic conditions to support long-term human habitation.

Phase Three (the 2030s): Construct dedicated permanent living facilities so astronauts can truly live on the Moon long term.

Isaacman emphasized on the show that the infrastructure must be there waiting before the astronauts arrive. This means the logic of the entire plan is “pave the way first, then walk,” rather than having humans build everything from scratch on a barren lunar surface.

Artemis missions: orbit the Moon in 2026, land in 2028

The lunar base plan is being carried out within the broader Artemis framework. On April 2 this year, Artemis II successfully completed a crewed lunar flyby—this historic mission marks humanity’s return to the Moon for the first time in half a century.

Under the current schedule, NASA aims to carry out the Artemis III mission in mid-2027, with the earliest crewed lunar landing completed as soon as 2028, when two astronauts will step onto the lunar surface. The first phase of the lunar base plan is designed to ensure that the environment is as ready as possible by the time these astronauts arrive.

NASA has awarded lunar surface systems contracts to multiple commercial partners; the overall direction is to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon, using it as a stepping stone that ultimately points toward Mars.