Nasa considers meteor threat to planned 2032 Moon base

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 24 Oct, 03:20 · Archive

Nasa is taking meteor strikes into account as it plans to establish a crewed Moon base by 2032.

Nasa is factoring meteor strikes into its plans to build a crewed Moon base by 2032, with astronauts set to land in 2028. Space agency chief Jared Isaacman said the agency is "giving a lot of thought" to the hazard and that potentially dangerous environmental factors would need to be considered when establishing an outpost.

His remarks followed the revelation that an asteroid or comet the size of a six-storey building had struck the lunar surface in 2024, leaving a crater 728 feet wide and 141 feet deep. Scientists described the collision as a "once-in-a-lifetime" event, occurring roughly once a century. During the Artemis II mission earlier this year, astronauts observed several flashes as meteoroids hit the lunar surface at high speed, with no atmosphere to burn them up.

Nasa intends to land people on the Moon in 2028 and have a fully operational base by 2032, maintaining a permanent human presence with regular crew rotations. The project aims to develop technologies needed for future deep space exploration, including missions to Mars. Artemis III is scheduled to launch next year, with four crew members testing docking procedures between the Orion spacecraft and commercial lunar landers developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

How it is being reported

• Lunar meteor strikes pose huge risk to 2032 NASA Moon base plansNasa boss Jared Isaacman says the agency is "giving a lot of thought" to lunar meteor strikes as it pushes ahead with ambitious Moon base plans, following a 2024 asteroid impact that left a crater 728 feet wideThe Mirror · 24 Oct, 02:58
• Lunar surface meteor strikes on minds of Nasa bosses in developing Moon basePotentially hazardous environmental factors will need to be taken into account in establishing an outpost, say planners.Evening Standard · 23 Oct, 23:23

In this story: Nasa · Jared Isaacman · Moon · Kennedy Space Centre · Blue Origin · SpaceX · Mars

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