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By Taryn Pedler
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President Donald Trump said US astronauts will soon return to the moon to establish "a permanent American presence" before heading to Mars.
NASA's plans suggest that presence would take shape gradually. First, it would happen through robotic missions and test equipment; then, through a network of power, communications and transport systems. Eventually, there would be an outpost where astronauts could live and work for extended periods.
Trump made the remark at a science and technology summit in Washington, D.C., on October 8, while discussing the Artemis program.
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But it was not a new mission announcement. A December 2025 executive order already set a goal of returning Americans to the moon by 2028 and establishing the initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030.
The order also states an ambition of "enabling near-term utilization of space nuclear power by deploying nuclear reactors on the moon and in orbit, including a lunar surface reactor" ready for the same year.
NASA's public roadmap describes a longer buildout. Its first phase, running from now until 2029, focuses on robotic missions, landing technology and surveying the lunar South Pole for possible infrastructure sites.
The space agency's second phase, from 2029 to 2032, would begin deploying systems for power, cargo deliveries, logistics and communications.
NASA places assembly of a permanent outpost in its third phase, beginning in 2032.
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A Base Built in Stages
NASA says the first pieces would likely be equipment rather than buildings.
Robotic landers and rovers would test how to reach the lunar surface, map terrain and study resources such as water ice.
NASA's planned VIPER rover, for example, delivered by the private American space technology company Blue Origin, is intended to search for ice and other materials near the South Pole. Other missions would test landing systems, dust sensors and communications equipment.
This groundwork matters because the moon's South Pole is highly difficult terrain.
Some craters remain permanently shadowed, where ice may be preserved, while nearby high ground may offer better conditions for solar power.
A site would need to balance access to potential resources with sunlight, safe landing zones and reliable communications.
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The agency says its early missions will help identify locations for future infrastructure and reduce risks before astronauts arrive.
The outpost could look less like a single, enclosed "moon base" and more like a collection of connected systems spread across the landscape - including habitats, power units, communications links, landers and vehicles.
NASA's conceptual illustrations show astronauts and robotic equipment operating across the lunar surface, with vehicles moving people and cargo between work sites.
Some transport would be unpressurized rovers, allowing suited astronauts to travel across the surface.
NASA also describes a planned pressurized rover supplied by Japan's space agency, JAXA, that could serve as a mobile habitat and laboratory.
Its concept is designed to let astronauts travel farther from a landing site and work inside without spacesuits during longer expeditions.
NASA says it could support journeys lasting up to 28 days, with cargo resupply between trips.
But longer stays would require more than shelter. A working outpost would need dependable electricity, life-support systems, communications with Earth, cargo deliveries and ways to move across rough terrain.
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The White House order also calls for a lunar surface reactor to be ready for launch by 2030, though NASA's published architecture puts the permanent outpost's assembly in a later phase.
However, "permanent" does not necessarily mean a continuously occupied settlement.
NASA describes an outpost intended to support astronauts living and working on the moon for extended periods, but its public phases do not promise that people will be there without interruption.
A Parallel Lunar Plan
The U.S. is not the only country planning a long-term presence on the moon.
The International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) is planned as a research facility with components on the lunar surface and in orbit.
China's space agency said in 2025 that 17 countries and international organizations and more than 50 research institutions had joined the initiative.
Its stated plan is to build a basic station near the South Pole by 2035 and expand it in the 2040s.
The two programs have different schedules and structures, but both describe progression from robotic exploration to infrastructure and long-term research.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and James Debens
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