NASA administrator hails 'Golden Age' of lunar exploration as Moon Base plans unveiled

Artist’s impression of astronauts, habitats, rovers, power systems, and cargo operations supporting sustained human activities at a future Moon Base.

NASA has revealed the next steps in its plans to build humanity's first lunar outpost, with three uncrewed missions to the moon targeted for later this year.

The missions, announced by the U.S. space agency at a news conference on Tuesday (May 26), are the first of many to begin laying the foundations for a permanent base on the moon's surface, which NASA hopes will one day pave the way to sending humans to Mars.