Transforming the Moon Into Humanity’s First Space Hub

This year will mark a turning point in humanity’s relationship with the planet moonwhich will lead us as we begin to lay the foundations for a permanent presence on its surface, paving the way for our natural satellite to become an industrial hub Mars and beyond.

Developing a lunar economy comes down to three key elements: the ability to reach the moon, the means to refuel on the return trip, and profitable businesses operating on the lunar surface. And, by 2025, technology in these three areas will finally begin to take shape.

In the past decade, the giants of private space exploration—Space Exploration Technologies Corporation and blue origin— has become locked in a race to the moon. SpaceX’s newest rocket, Starship, is at the center of this effort. Nearly twice as tall as its predecessor, the Falcon 9 (121 meters vs. 70 meters), and three times as wide (9 meters vs. 3.7 meters), Starship does have those dimensions, but its design Travel has also changed the way we think about space. Unlike traditional rockets that are used once and then discarded, Starship can be reused for multiple flights and can even be refueled in orbit. Its increased power means it can deliver about 100 tons of payload to the moon in a single trip, which is roughly equivalent to all payloads sent to the moon historically combined, but in just one trip.

Traditional rockets can only carry about 0.1% 1% of its total takeoff weight goes to the moon, but Starship, with its refueling capabilities, provides about 2%. Picture this: If a traditional rocket were a moving truck, that would be like transporting a suitcase on an 18-wheeler. With Starship, the cost per ton of payload delivered to the lunar surface plummets, making lunar missions more affordable.

Following closely behind is Blue Origin blue moon lander. While Blue Moon may be smaller than Starship, with a capacity of nearly 3 tons, it’s designed to deliver the heavy equipment and infrastructure that will transform the Moon from a barren outpost into a thriving industrial base . Together, these vehicles lay the foundation for an emerging lunar economy.

SpaceX plans to demonstrate Starship’s full set of capabilities in 2025, including the ability to refuel and reuse in orbit, thereby significantly cutting lunar transportation costs and making lunar landings easier than ever. This is part of an ongoing series of orbital flight tests that will begin in 2023, continue through 2024, and will take place in 2025.

Meanwhile, Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander is scheduled to make its first flight in early 2025, marking a critical step in establishing the infrastructure needed for long-term lunar exploration and industrial activities.

Another major milestone in the race to the moon is set to be reached in late 2025, when NASA’s Artemis 2 mission plans to carry astronauts around the moon, the first time humans have ventured far from near Earth since the Apollo missions. track. The mission is the first crewed flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System. This is also a prelude to Artemis 3, marking the return of humans to the lunar surface in 2026.

Supporting the Artemis mission is the Lunar Gateway, a space station that orbits the moon and serves as a key logistics hub for missions to the lunar surface. In 2025, NASA will make significant progress on the Gateway by launching and assembling the first modules, including those that will provide power, propulsion and housing for astronauts. The Gateway is critical to enabling long-term lunar exploration.

Landing on the moon is only the first step in the equation. A sustainable lunar economy depends on the ability to transport people and supplies from the lunar surface back to Earth. The key limiting factor in getting home is the availability of return fuel. The company I founded, star roadThe first “gas station” is being created on the moon, establishing an end-to-end fuel production system on the lunar surface capable of converting icy regolith into rocket fuel. The three-part system includes a fleet of autonomous mining vehicles that collect ice dust, a processing plant that heats the ice to extract water, splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen and then liquefies the oxygen, and a large solar array to power the mining equipment . In 2025, we will demonstrate this technology at scale, enabling regular, low-cost travel between Earth and the Moon and beyond.

As these technologies take off, the moon will no longer be just a remote, desolate place. It will become the gateway to humanity’s future space.