An artist's concept of NASA's Moon Base. Photo: NASA
NASA’s ambitious ongoing Artemis programme aims to develop a permanent outpost near the lunar south pole over the next decade. While India’s cost-effective engineering approach and experience in lunar science could make it a useful partner for NASA, the joint effort could provide India access to technologies, expertise and opportunities to participate in sustained lunar operations and also create opportunities for the country's rapidly growing space-startup ecosystem.
Earlier this month, America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officially invited India to join it in establishing its planned permanent base near the Moon's south pole. The invitation came at the ninth meeting of the US-India Civil Space Joint Working Group, held at the Bengaluru headquarters of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Established in 2005, the working group serves as a regular forum for the two countries to discuss cooperation in space activities and their shared objectives. This year’s meeting brought together senior officials from ISRO, NASA and the U.S. State Department. ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan and U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor also addressed the opening session.
While an official statement issued by the US embassy in India confirmed the invitation for the Moon settlement, it gave very little information about India’s exact role in the Moon Base project. Nor has ISRO shared any details since.
If NASA’s Apollo programme was focused primarily on landing humans on the Moon (achieved in 1969) and returning them safely to Earth, the more ambitious ongoing Artemis programme (launched in 2017) aims to develop a permanent outpost near the lunar south pole over the next decade. This will be akin to the outpost established in Antarctica and the Space Station. By ‘permanent’, NASA does not mean that the same astronauts will live there forever. Crews will rotate, much as they do on the International Space Station (ISS), eventually creating a continuous human presence. Each crew group will spend, say, a month or more at the lunar outpost and carry out scientific and technical studies.
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India has its own human-spaceflight ambitions through the Gaganyaan programme and plans to establish the Bharatiya Antariksh Station in the coming years. ISRO officials have also spoken of longer-term ambitions for an Indian crewed lunar mission and lunar infrastructure around 2040. These ambitions, however, will call for sustained funding, specialised expertise and substantial technological development.
The successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 in the lunar south-polar region in 2023 demonstrated India’s capabilities in precision navigation, autonomous landing and hazard avoidance in challenging terrain — all valuable for future robotic and crewed lunar missions. ISRO also has considerable experience with the LVM3, a reliable heavy-lift launch vehicle used to place large satellites into orbit. The Indian space agency is also developing a next-generation launch vehicle capable of carrying heavier payloads.
Meanwhile, India’s growing private space sector has demonstrated capabilities in launch vehicles, spacecraft, and other space technologies.
India’s cost-effective engineering approach and experience in lunar science could make it a useful partner for NASA, while the joint effort could provide India access to technologies, expertise and opportunities to participate in sustained lunar operations, while strengthening the wider US-India space partnership under the Artemis Accords (which “provide a common set of principles to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space”). The partnership could also create opportunities for India’s rapidly growing space-startup ecosystem, which now includes more than 400 companies, to participate in the emerging lunar economy.
Artist's concept of NASA's lunar terrain vehicle. Photo: NASA
Building a permanent base on the Moon is a lot like constructing a large apartment complex in a completely new and difficult location. You cannot simply arrive and start living there. First, you must survey the land, bring materials step by step, put up the basic structure and only then can people move in for longer stays.
The project is planned in three phases. In the first phase, from now until about 2029, the work will be similar to the initial site preparation of a large housing project. According to available information, more than twenty robotic landings will take place. These robots will act like surveyors and small construction teams. They will carry scientific instruments, rovers, and hopping drones to study the ground carefully, test equipment, and identify the safest and most suitable spots near the South Pole.
The first astronauts are expected to land in 2028, much like the first engineers and supervisors who visit a new construction site. Altogether, this stage aims to deliver only about four tonnes of material, just enough to understand the location properly. Four tonnes may sound substantial, but it is tiny compared with what would be needed to establish a functioning settlement. The second phase increases this to about 60 tonnes, and the third to roughly 150 tonnes.
The second phase, from 2029 to 2032, is when the actual building begins. Larger cargo landers, each able to carry up to five tonnes, will bring power systems, communication equipment, mobility vehicles and the first simple living modules. This is like bringing in generators, water connections, temporary roads and the first basic flats of an apartment complex. The target is to deliver around sixty tonnes of cargo in total. Crewed visits will become more frequent, possibly twice a year. Astronauts will stay for short periods to test the systems, just as early residents or site staff might occupy a few rooms while the rest of the building is still under construction.
From 2032 onwards, the third phase aims to turn the outpost into a more lasting home. Bigger habitats, stronger power systems (including nuclear options), better transport and early efforts to make useful materials from local resources will be added. Cargo capacity may increase further, and the ability to send larger amounts of samples and equipment back to Earth will improve. Crew could stay longer, moving closer to regular occupation. This stage is like completing the full apartment complex, finishing the flats, installing permanent power and water, and allowing people to live there for extended periods.
If an agreement on specifics of India’s participation is reached, possible areas of cooperation could include scientific instruments, robotic systems, communications, lunar mobility and other technologies needed for surface operations. India’s future heavy-lift launch vehicles could also potentially contribute to the delivery of cargo and equipment to the Moon. Indian astronauts could eventually participate in crewed lunar missions, while India’s experience with lunar sample-return missions could contribute to scientific and resource studies.
Just as it is not possible to build an apartment block all at once, so too will the lunar base develop one step at a time. Each stage must wait on the successful completion of the previous one. The robots must first show that the technology works, the materials must arrive reliably, and only then can people stay for longer periods. Naturally, the experience gained from building and operating the International Space Station for more than two decades will be invaluable. The ISS has already taught engineers how to assemble a complex facility in space, maintain it remotely and keep astronauts safe in an environment far from Earth.
China is pursuing a parallel path. It plans a crewed landing on the Moon before 2030 and, with Russia, is developing the International Lunar Research Station near the south pole, targeting around 2036. This project is presented as an open alternative to the US-led Artemis framework.
Organisations such as the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organisation (which includes countries like Bangladesh, China, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru, Thailand, and Türkiye, among others) and the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences, along with countries including Venezuela, South Africa and Azerbaijan, have joined the Chinese-led effort. Nearly 70 countries, including India, have signed the US-led Artemis Accords. A few nations, such as Thailand and Serbia, are linked to both initiatives.
In short, there are two major international frameworks emerging: the US-led Artemis programme and the China-Russia-led International Lunar Research Station. Some countries participate in one, some in the other, and a few have links to both. At present, India appears to be siding with the US framework.
Artist's concept of the lunar south pole. Photo: NASA
Both initiatives propose establishing the base in the Lunar South Polar Region. This region is preferred for early bases because certain elevated areas receive sunlight for longer durations, while deep craters remain in permanent shadow and stay extremely cold. Water ice in these craters can be used to produce oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for fuel, including rocket propellant. The lunar soil also contains various useful elements, including rare earth elements that are important in many modern technologies. Helium-3 has attracted attention as a possible future fusion fuel, but extracting it from the Moon and using it economically remains highly speculative. Nonetheless, experimental work on such fusion reactors is already underway in several countries, including France and China.
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The new lunar race isn't primarily about planting a flag. It is about building infrastructure and claiming ownership of lunar resources. Besides the technical plans, the two approaches reflect different views on using space resources.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty states that the Moon is the “province of all mankind” and cannot be claimed by any nation. The Artemis Accords, signed by the United States and its partners, authorise countries and their private companies to extract and use resources from the Moon, Mars, asteroids and comets. In contrast, the 1979 Moon Agreement, adopted by the United Nations, describes the Moon and its resources as the “common heritage of mankind” and calls for sharing of benefits. China and Russia have described the Artemis Accords as an attempt to create rules outside United Nations processes that favour resource extraction by certain countries and companies. These differing interpretations of how celestial bodies and their resources should be treated form an important part of the current discussion on lunar exploration.
