The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Jared Isaacman, stated that construction of a lunar base will commence from 2027, with plans for approximately monthly robotic landings. By the early 2030s, astronauts could potentially live on the lunar surface for months at a time.

In an interview on Wednesday local time, Isaacman indicated that by the time the Artemis 4 crew lands in 2028, "some of the infrastructure for the lunar base will already be in place for them." NASA has selected Blue Origin and other contractors to develop landers and lunar rovers as part of a three-phase strategy to lay the groundwork for crewed missions.

Isaacman noted that this approach marks NASA's return to the strategy it employed during the 1960s Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. Rather than finalizing the design for lunar infrastructure today, the agency will use initial landing missions to guide decisions on which hardware proves most effective. He stated that the focus of this phase will be on "survival science."

The second phase, extending into the early 2030s, will involve deploying heavier equipment and extending astronaut stays on the Moon from days to potentially weeks. The third phase envisions a rotation system similar to that of the International Space Station, with astronauts residing on the Moon for months.

Isaacman also remarked, "There's no question that SpaceX is probably our greatest commercial space company. We rely heavily on SpaceX to transport astronauts to the International Space Station and return them to Earth."

While expressing confidence in both SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander, he cautioned that the orbital economy is "grossly overestimated," noting that without government involvement, NASA could not even determine who would purchase the 50th lunar lander.