WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, released this statement regarding NASA’s announcement today of the first three Moon Base missions that will begin building sustained operations on the lunar surface:
“Today’s announcement is another major step forward for America’s return to the Moon and highlights the strength of Washington state’s commercial space sector. NASA is moving quickly to build the infrastructure needed for sustained lunar operations, and these investments will help create high-skilled jobs and drive innovation here at home as the Artemis program advances toward a long-term human presence on the lunar surface.”
Details of the three missions are below.
Moon Base I: Targeted for launch no earlier than fall 2026, this mission will use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander to deliver NASA payloads. Equipment will include the Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies instrument to study how thrusters interact with the Moon’s surface, and the Laser Retroreflective Array, which helps orbiting spacecraft determine a more precise location using reflected laser light. The mission will land on the Shackleton Connecting Ridge to demonstrate capabilities that reduce risk for future crewed Artemis landing missions in 2028.
Moon Base II: Planned for launch later this year, this mission will deliver more than 1,100 pounds of cargo on Astrobotic’s Griffin lander, including Astrolab’s FLIP rover, to mature mobility systems that inform future lunar terrain vehicle, or LTV, operations.
Moon Base III: Also targeted for this year, this mission will fly the first payload selected through NASA’s Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon initiative. Its anchor investigation, Lunar Vertex, will fly on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Trinity lunar lander and study lunar swirls, or light spots on the surface of the Moon, to improve understanding of surface evolution and material behavior under extreme conditions. The mission will include payloads from ESA (European Space Agency) and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, reflecting commercial and international participation in Moon Base activities.
Sen. Cantwell has been a champion for our nation’s space industry and its aerospace workforce. She spoke with the Artemis II astronauts during their mission, and in March, she visited several Washington companies that are supporting the Artemis II mission. Earlier in March, Sen. Cantwell led bipartisan, unanimous passage through the Commerce Committee of the NASA Authorization Act of 2026, which confirms support for the Artemis missions. When she was Chair of the Committee, Sen. Cantwell originally introduced the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2024.
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