NASA advances plan to build a $30 billion moon base with private partners

NASA outlined Phase 1 of a $30 billion plan to establish a permanent lunar base, awarding about $590 million to Astrobotic, Firefly and Intuitive Machines for four lunar missions and signaling possible use of a Mars rover on the Moon. The effort aims to lay groundwork for future habitats and power infrastructure by the late 2020s, relying on private partners like SpaceX and Blue Origin amid funding and technical hurdles and competing with China’s space program.