NASA to build permanent moon base
NASA decided to build a permanent base on the moon.
NASA announced plans Monday to begin building a permanent base on the moon by 2024, four years after the space agency starts sending crews of four astronauts there for weeklong exploratory missions.
The base would probably be located near the lunar south pole and be staffed by rotating teams of international astronauts for up to six months at a time, according to NASA officials.
The teams will be equipped for extended travel across the cratered lunar surface and will start preparing the base as a way station for an eventual human mission to Mars, the officials said.
No price tag has yet been set for the lunar venture, but the space agency’s lunar exploration chief conceded that participation by other space-faring nations as well as U.S. industries will be critical for success of the costly, risky and technically demanding effort.
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