Nasa just invited India to help build a permanent base on the Moon. It’s the kind of headline that writes itself — and yet, what it actually means for India is still almost entirely undecided.
Nasa wants to do something considerably more ambitious than return astronauts to the Moon. It wants to start building a place where humans can eventually stay.
The agency’s new Moon Base programme envisages a sustained human presence near the lunar South Pole, built gradually through robotic missions, crewed landings, commercial landers, rovers, power systems, communications infrastructure and, eventually, habitats. From visiting to stayingThe Moon Base is essentially a shift in emphasis from exploration missions to infrastructure.
The first phase, through roughly 2028-29, is expected to focus on learning how to operate reliably at the South Pole. Robotic landers and rovers will map terrain, study the extreme environment and test technologies for power, communications, mobility and navigation.
The second phase, roughly from 2029 to 2032, is intended to introduce early infrastructure, including pressurised modules and more capable power and life-support systems. Japan, for instance, is expected to contribute a pressurised rover that could allow two astronauts to travel and work away from the main landing site for extended periods.
The longer-term vision involves larger habitats, regular cargo deliveries, more powerful energy systems and experiments aimed at using materials found on the Moon itself. That last part is particularly important.
Why the South Pole? The lunar South Pole offers two things future explorers badly need: water and sunlight.
Some craters there remain permanently shadowed, allowing water ice and other volatile substances to survive for billions of years. If that ice can be located and extracted economically, it could potentially provide water for astronauts and, after processing, hydrogen and oxygen for life support and perhaps rocket propellant.
At the same time, some elevated areas receive sunlight for much longer periods than most of the lunar surface, making them attractive locations for solar power. But the South Pole is also exceptionally difficult terrain.
Deep shadows, steep slopes, boulders and extreme temperature differences make landing and driving difficult. Lunar dust is another problem, potentially damaging seals, machinery, optics and solar panels.
