---
title: "NASA’s Plan for a Lunar Outpost Just Leaked"
description: "NASA's ambitious Artemis plan will not just send Americans back to the Moon, but will move us closer to a permanent presence there."
date: "2019-05-20"
modified: "2019-05-20"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-lunar-outpost"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "artemis"
  - "moon"
  - "NASA"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA’s Plan for a Lunar Outpost Just Leaked

![The Artemis plan is an ambitious NASA plan not just to send Americans back to the Moon, but to move toward a permanent presence there.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/nasa-lunar-outpost.png>)
*\<em\>Image: SSERVI/NASA\</em\>*

## Lunar Outpost

An [extraordinary scoop](<https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/05/nasas-full-artemis-plan-revealed-37-launches-and-a-lunar-outpost/>) from *Ars Technica*: senior space editor Eric Berger has obtained an internal NASA plan for the next 37 rocket launches to the Moon — and it includes sending human astronauts in 2024 and establishing a permanent lunar base in 2028.

In sum, the schedule for Artemis is ambitious**,** and the program's goal isn't just sending Americans back to the Moon, but moving toward a permanent presence there that could signal a new era in the exploration of the solar system.

## Moon Base

A NASA graphic obtained by *Ars* breaks down the plan by year, including annual lunar missions starting in 2024 and the establishment of a lunar base in 2028.

The plan also calls for the assembly of NASA's long-planned Lunar Gateway, an outpost that will orbit the Moon and [serve as a spaceport](<https://futurism.com/nasa-deep-space-gateway-2024>) for missions to the surface.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/NASA-plan-1200x676.jpg>)

## Launch Pad

The plan hasn't yet been officially made public, and Berger points out that political realities could drag it back to Earth — NASA hasn't even arrived at a total cost for the program yet, for instance, and it relies heavily on contractors [delivering ambitious hardware](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/memo-confirms-spacex-explosion-video-real>) on time.

But it is heartening to see NASA feeling empowered to make big plans that could see the return of humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972.

**READ MORE:** [NASA’s full Artemis plan revealed: 37 launches and a lunar outpost](<https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/05/nasas-full-artemis-plan-revealed-37-launches-and-a-lunar-outpost/>) \[*Ars Technica*\]

**More on the Moon**: *[China Announces Plans for Moon Base](<https://futurism.com/moon-base-china-plans>)*

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)