Moon Base, Here We Come! NASA Picks Three New Science Missions for the Moon
Quick Summary
NASA just selected three brand-new science experiments to send to the Moon. They will help scientists figure out how to keep future astronauts safe while they live and work at the Moon’s south pole. The goal? To build humanity’s very first Moon Base!
What Happened?
On September 30, NASA announced three new scientific investigations chosen through its PRISM program. PRISM stands for Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon. The experiments will hitch a ride to the Moon on small robotic landers provided by private companies, as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services — or CLPS — program.
Think of it like sending three different science kits to the Moon before the astronauts arrive, so they know exactly what to expect when they get there.
Here are the three experiments:
LEMS-SP stands for Lunar Environment Monitoring Station – South Pole. It will keep a close eye on the environment at the Moon’s south pole, watching for dangerous conditions like radiation or extreme temperature swings.
GIMLI stands for Geophysical Investigation for Mapping Lunar Interior. It will explore a deep, dark pit — called a lunar pit — on the Moon’s surface. Pits like this might be natural caves or tunnels that future astronauts could use as shelters. Inside a pit, temperatures are more stable, like how a cave on Earth stays cooler than the hot ground outside.
DISCO stands for Depth Imager with Spectral and Color Optics. This one will look for frozen water hiding in tiny, super-cold spots on the Moon called micro-cold traps. These cold pockets never see sunlight and stay as cold as negative 163 degrees Celsius — colder than any freezer you have ever seen. Water ice found there could one day be turned into drinking water or rocket fuel for astronauts.
NASA’s science chief Nicky Fox called this work “the ultimate interplanetary survival guide” — making sure science goes first, so astronauts arrive prepared.
Why Does It Matter?
Building a Moon Base is one of the biggest goals in space exploration right now. Astronauts who live on the Moon will face dangers like intense radiation, extreme cold, and tricky terrain. These experiments will help planners know where it is safe to land, where to find resources like water, and what natural shelters exist. All of that knowledge is also a stepping stone toward eventually sending people to Mars.
Big Words
- Lunar — anything related to the Moon (luna is the Latin word for moon)
- PRISM program — a NASA program that sends science instruments to the Moon on small robotic landers
- Micro-cold trap — a tiny shadowy pocket on the Moon’s surface that never sees sunlight, making it cold enough to preserve frozen water for billions of years
- Geophysical — relating to the physical processes and features inside a planet or moon, like studying what is underground
- Payload — the scientific equipment or cargo that a spacecraft carries on a mission
Fun Fact
The Moon’s south pole gets sunlight at a very low angle, like sunrise light that barely skims the ground. Some craters there have been in complete darkness for over two billion years — longer than most complex life has existed on Earth!
Think About It
If you were designing a Moon Base, what would be the three most important things you would want the robots to check out before you arrived?
Sources
- NASA.gov — NASA Adds New Science Investigations for Moon Base (Sep 30, 2026)
- Starlust — Space weekly recap, September 26–October 2, 2026 (Oct 2, 2026)
- Innovation News Network — Three new science investigations added to NASA Moon Base (Oct 1, 2026)
- Space & Defense — NASA selects three new science investigations for Moon Base (Oct 1, 2026)