Carlos Garcia-Galan (C), head of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s lunar base program, attends a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, 29 July 2026. Photo by YONHAP \/ EPA<\/p>\n
July 29 (Asia Today) — NASA is considering cooperation with South Korea in satellite communications, robotics and mobility as the U.S. space agency works to establish a permanently occupied base on the moon in the 2030s.<\/p>\n
Carlos Garc\u00eda-Gal\u00e1n, manager of NASA’s Moon Base program, said Wednesday that international cooperation would be essential to accomplishing the nearly impossible task of establishing a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface.\n<\/p>\n
“South Korea has both an interest in space and the capabilities needed to pursue it, as well as industries that can turn those capabilities into reality,” Garc\u00eda-Gal\u00e1n said at a media briefing in Seoul.<\/p>\n
The Korea AeroSpace Administration hosted the briefing at the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies in southern Seoul.<\/p>\n
NASA outlined its Moon Base initiative this year as part of a broader plan to create infrastructure supporting a sustained human presence on the moon and future missions deeper into space.\n<\/p>\n
The initiative consists of three phases.<\/p>\n
During the first phase, which runs through 2029, NASA plans to send uncrewed rovers and resource-prospecting equipment to survey the lunar surface.<\/p>\n
The second phase, scheduled from 2029 through 2032, will focus on establishing initial infrastructure and operating capabilities that allow astronauts to remain on the moon.<\/p>\n
NASA plans to begin developing a semipermanent base capable of supporting a continuous human presence after 2032.<\/p>\n
Garc\u00eda-Gal\u00e1n said the program would require transportation systems capable of delivering cargo to the moon and mobility technologies that allow astronauts and equipment to move across its surface.<\/p>\n
“We are seeking meaningful partners whose participation can help develop the capabilities of their entire countries,” he said.<\/p>\n
NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Nujoud Merancy said South Korea had demonstrated strong satellite and communications capabilities through cooperation on Danuri, the country’s first lunar orbiter.<\/p>\n
“Through our work on Danuri, we saw that South Korea has outstanding communications and satellite technologies,” Merancy said.<\/p>\n
She said South Korean companies also had strengths in robotics and mobility that could contribute to the lunar base while creating a lasting foundation for research and industrial development.<\/p>\n
The initiative is expected to require technologies that have never been developed or used at such a scale, potentially generating opportunities for private companies and the emerging space economy.\n<\/p>\n
“Establishing a long-term human presence on the moon is an extremely difficult undertaking that will require unprecedented advanced technologies,” Garc\u00eda-Gal\u00e1n said.<\/p>\n
He said developing those technologies could generate substantial economic benefits and help expand the commercial space industry.<\/p>\n
NASA envisions the lunar settlement as a small city resembling a research station in Antarctica.<\/p>\n
“The moon base will be similar to a small city built around an Antarctic research station,” Merancy said.<\/p>\n
The settlement could include transportation and cargo systems, residential areas, power-generation equipment and facilities capable of producing oxygen, she said.<\/p>\n
South Korea joined the U.S.-led Artemis Accords in 2021 and has expanded cooperation with NASA through Danuri and other lunar exploration projects.<\/p>\n
The Korean space agency said it intends to use the Moon Base initiative to broaden cooperation between the two countries from existing space projects to lunar surface operations and deep-space exploration.<\/p>\n
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI<\/p>\n
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