NASA says Moon Base I is targeted for launch no earlier than fall 2026 and will use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander to deliver NASA payloads to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge near the lunar south pole.[1][2][5] The mission will carry the Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies instrument to measure how thrusters affect the lunar surface, plus a Laser Retroreflective Array to improve orbiting spacecraft positioning through reflected laser light.[1][5] NASA says the landing is intended to reduce risk for future crewed Artemis landings, currently targeted for 2028.[1][2][5]
Technically, the mission is a high-value systems test for precision landing, autonomous guidance, navigation and control, and cryogenic propulsion at the lunar south pole.[2] The Shackleton Connecting Ridge is strategically important because it combines elevated terrain with access to both near-continuous sunlight and nearby permanently shadowed regions, which makes it attractive for solar power and water-ice logistics.[8][10] For habitation and preservation, the key implication is that surface operations there will generate real data on dust, plume erosion, landing-zone degradation, and navigation accuracy in the exact environment where long-duration infrastructure would need to survive.[1][2][8]
Ark team should track three things: plume-surface interaction results, landing precision performance, and any evidence of terrain or illumination constraints that change site-selection assumptions for permanent infrastructure.[1][2][5] The team should also monitor whether NASA’s south-pole architecture confirms practical access to water-ice-adjacent regions, because that affects propellant, water, and closed-loop habitation planning.[8] If the mission succeeds, its datasets should be treated as baseline environmental evidence for future Ark site engineering, contamination control, and long-term asset preservation planning on the Moon.[1][2]