NASA Says We're Going To Live on the Moon…and That's Not All

Sometimes you just want to escape from it all, and a vacation doesn’t feel far enough away. A social media break? Not cutting it. What you really want is to get off of planet Earth altogether. And what if you could? What if we could live…on the moon?

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Well, with NASA’s latest ambitions, long-term residence on the moon could be possible. They’ve got a multi-step process all figured out, and while the end goal is for scientific advancement and not just leisure, it could be a massive step towards some even greater accomplishments.

NASA announced on Instagram that it’s working with international and commercial partners to return to the moon and establish a long-term presence there. This would be the first setup of its kind, allowing people to actually LIVE on the moon.

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Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first set foot on the moon 56 years ago, and since then, there have been a number of short-term visits, but no humans have stayed on its surface for very long. And while there has been a long-term human presence in space, thanks to the International Space Station (which has been continuously occupied since 2000), NASA is setting its sights higher — and further into the void.

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NASA believes that a long-term presence on the moon’s surface is the first step to discovering more about Earth’s next-door neighbor, Mars. The organization aims to have crewed missions to Mars in the future, noting, “Mars is a rich destination for scientific discovery and a driver of technologies that will enable humans to travel and explore far from Earth.” NASA has said that learning more about Mars will help explain more of Earth’s past and future, as well as allow us to see whether life exists beyond our planet.

At any given point in time, Mars is somewhere from 33 million to 249 million miles from Earth. When astronauts take the first mission to Mars and back, they’ll return with more than one billion miles on their odometer — more than a thousand times the distance that Artemis I traveled. One of the current project flight plans involves an 850-day journey for a mission opportunity in 2039.

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With these lofty goals in mind, NASA will need more manpower down the road. Space Coast Daily announced that the University of Central Florida (known for being a top supplier of graduates to the aerospace industry) will be launching a new space MBA program in Spring 2026. “We have world-class researchers, direct connections to the space industry and the very best location,” says Greg Autry, associate provost for space commercialization and strategy at UCF.

The Artemis Missions (what NASA has dubbed its plan to establish a long-term presence on the moon) are a major next step for the aerospace field. “We’re going back to the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and inspiration for a new generation of explorers: the Artemis Generation. While maintaining American leadership in exploration, we will build a global alliance and explore deep space for the benefit of all,” says NASA.

The Artemis Generation will include missions around the moon, followed by the first journey to the lunar south pole. The major goal is to build the first lunar space station, which will be a foundation for long-term exploration.

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So for those with ambitions of exploring the Final Frontier, we’ve got a long road ahead of us. We’ll be interested to watch the next steps from NASA as the journey unfolds.