The US space agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), intends to begin establishing a permanent base on the Moon within the next few years. Last week, NASA unveiled an ambitious road map for lunar exploration over the next decade that includes laying the groundwork for a permanent base on the Moon capable of supporting frequent, long-term astronaut stays.This has come amidst preparations for the launch of the Artemis II mission, possibly as early as this week, that will take four astronauts around the Moon and mark the return of humans to the lunar vicinity after more than five decades.In outlining its roadmap, NASA has addressed a frequent and familiar question in the context of renewed global interest in lunar missions: what is so great about going to the Moon when it has already been done more than 50 years ago? As NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman put it: “This time the goal is not flags and footprints. This time the goal is to stay.”It underlines the fact that the lunar missions of the coming years, including those involving human landings, are going to be fundamentally different from the Apollo programme that landed 12 humans on the Moon, two at a time, between 1969 and 1972.The six Apollo missions had happened barely 12 years after the beginning of the space age, and while these marked a dream technology leap, the space technology ecosystem at that time was too nascent to capitalise on these to make further progress. So, the Moon landings became standalone successes.When humans started probing the Moon again, in the early 2000s, they began not from where they had left off in 1972 but from scratch: by sending Orbiters. This current phase of lunar exploration has progressed incrementally and fresh human landings, expected in a couple of years, are going to serve as stepping stones to a greater and closer engagement with the Moon, and possibly use it as a launchpad for going further into space.Also read | NASA Artemis 2 countdown begins: Crew prepares for historic moon mission launchWhat NASA is setting out to do is to establish a facility for permanent human presence on the Moon, much like the way it is currently being done on the International Space Station (ISS), a space-based laboratory which has been continuously manned for about quarter of a century now. But such a facility will take time to be built, requiring several Moon missions: carrying humans, robots, equipment and fuel that can exploit and utilise locally-available resources to create a habitat that can sustain human presence over prolonged periods of time.Story continues below this adSuch missions have already begun with the Artemis programme. Its first flight happened in 2022, wherein an uncrewed Orion spacecraft flew around the Moon and came back. The second flight, scheduled for launch this week, will carry four astronauts on a similar route — around the Moon and back. Another test flight is scheduled for next year ahead of the planned 2028 Moon landing: “before the end of President Donald Trump’s term”, as Isaacman said.Simultaneously, a series of other missions are being planned, involving private space players and international partners, to carry logistics and other hardware. NASA is targeting a Moon landing, crewed or uncrewed, at least once every six months. (L-R) Artemis II NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot, and Christina Koch, mission specialist, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist, pose for a photograph at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 17, 2026. Photo: NASA/Kim ShiflettThe set-up being attempted for the Moon — about 400,000 km away from the Earth — is very similar to the ISS: regular missions carrying humans and logistics, continuous astronaut presence, and ongoing experiments. ISS is just 400 km from the Earth, but has proved to be extremely useful in extending humanity’s understanding of outer space, and in acclimatising them to survive and operate outside the protective environments of the Earth.ISS is all set to retire within the next three to four years, and is likely to be replaced not by one but multiple space stations, set up by private players and countries like China and India. NASA is not planning to send a replacement space station, but said it will continue to maintain its presence in low-earth orbit through industrial and international partners.Story continues below this adNASA also announced its plans for using nuclear energy to propel space missions. Its Space Reactor‑1 Freedom mission to Mars in 2028 would be the first nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft. Nuclear energy can bring greater efficiency into space missions.Indian dreamsWhen the first human landing on the Moon (Apollo 11) happened in 1969, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) did not even exist. It was set up within a month of that epoch-making event. Now, when NASA is working to take humans again to the Moon, ISRO is not just a collaborator but also a competitor, with its own plans of landing humans on the Moon.Also read | Artemis II: How to watch Nasa move its Moon rocket to launch pad liveThis also characterises the current phase of lunar exploration: unlike the 1960s and 1970s, there are multiple players in the race. Russia, which inherited the Soviet space programme, has not been very aggressive about going to the Moon again, but China, Japan, and India are serious contenders. There are a host of other countries, including in Europe, who would be very important collaborators in these endeavours.The Chinese have been planning a human landing on the Moon by 2030, whereas India’s plans are for 2040. India is a signatory to the Artemis Accords, a set of non-binding, bilateral principles that guides sustainable, peaceful civil space exploration led by NASA, particularly for the Moon and Mars. This signalled India’s strategic alignment with the US space programme and possible opportunities for ISRO to collaborate closely with NASA on lunar exploration.Story continues below this adThe two agencies already have a deep engagement, with the recent NISAR earth-observation joint mission underlining that relationship. NASA’s announcement said its lunar plans would have important contributions from private industry, academic institutions, and international partners. ISRO could have first-hand experience from these missions as it prepares to fulfil its own dreams over the next two decades.