Artemis Base Camp: A Trailhead for Sustainable Lunar Development?

In the Artemis Plan, NASA has outlined its strategy to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time in over half a century and “lay the foundation for a sustained long-term presence on the lunar surface”. A major piece of this foundation will be the placement of the Artemis Base Camp at the lunar south pole. Consisting of an unpressurized rover, a pressurized rover, and a pressurized surface habitat, the base camp will allow astronauts to complete multi-month exploration and science missions from the surface of the Moon.

Once completed, the Artemis Base Camp will be a good initial step towards establishing sustained operations on the lunar surface. Ensuring humanity’s long-term presence on the Moon, however, will require far more than infrastructure that allows no more than one- or two-month crewed expeditions. A long-term presence on the Moon will require long-term planning and a sustained commitment from the United States and its partners. Join us for a discussion with representatives from government, industry, and academia on what the expansion of the Artemis Base Camp may look like, why lunar development matters, and how lessons learned from the Artemis program could help to enable sustainable, long-term economic development on the Moon in the decades to come.

Panelists:

• Bhavya Lal - Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy, NASA
• Peter Garretson - Senior Fellow in Defense Studies, American Foreign Policy Council
• Vishnu Reddy - Associate Professor, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona
• Tyler Bender - Policy Analyst, Beyond Earth Institute - Moderator