NASA unveils next steps to build permanent Moon base

NASA has released details of robotic landers, hopping drones and vehicles it aims to send to the Moon as part of US plans to build a lunar base. Jeff Bezos's space company Blue Origin is one of several companies picked to build the machines. The US wants to land Americans back on the Moon before President Donald Trump leaves office in 2029.

China is forging ahead with its own plans to land humans on the Moon by 2030. On Monday it launched its Shenzhou-23 spacecraft, sending a crew of astronauts to the country's Tiangong space station. In March, NASA announced a $20 billion programme to construct a permanent base powered by nuclear and solar energy at the Moon's south pole by 2032. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said on Tuesday that the announcements mean the US will "never give up the Moon again". Dr. Simeon Barber, Lunar Scientist at Open University, told BBC News, citing NASA's setbacks in securing a craft that can land humans on the Moon, "It would not surprise me at all if China gets there first".

Before humans travel there, NASA wants to send robotic landers and hopping drones to explore and map the Moon's challenging terrain. On Tuesday, NASA said companies including Blue Origin, Intuitive Machines, and Astrobotic have been awarded the contracts to build the machines. NASA wants Blue Origin's lunar lander, called Endurance, to be able to carry out precise landings, as well as autonomous navigation and control. Astrobotic's Griffin-1 lander is expected to land at Nobile Crater near the South Pole. This robotic exploration should last until 2029, with **25