Building a moon base is one of those ideas that everyone loves in theory and quietly avoids in practice, much like assembling IKEA furniture or calling your grandmother. But according to a panel of industry experts, the lunar future is apparently closer than we think - provided a few things happen in the next couple of years, which is a delightfully vague deadline that could mean anything from "soon" to "never."

During a live event at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, leaders from Astrolab, Firefly Space and APL gathered to discuss what it would actually take to construct a permanent presence on the Moon. The panel shared their vision of a lunar future and outlined the critical steps that must occur in the near term to make it a reality - because nothing says "inspiring vision" like a checklist of logistical nightmares involving rockets, habitats, and the occasional dust storm that never ends.

The discussion was part of Space Minds, a new audio and video podcast from SpaceNews that focuses on the inspiring leaders, technologies and exciting opportunities in space. The weekly podcast features interviews with scientists, founders and experts who genuinely love talking about space, covers the news that keeps enthusiasts daydreaming, and engages with listeners. Hosted by Mike Gruss and journalists from the SpaceNews team, new episodes drop every Thursday - because nothing builds anticipation for humanity's multiplanetary future like a weekly content schedule.

You can watch new episodes every Thursday on SpaceNews.com and on YouTube, Spotify and Apple channels. And if you want to be the first to know when episodes drop, you can enter your email for exclusive access as soon as they go live. By registering, you consent to receive communications from SpaceNews and its partners - a small price to pay for the privilege of hearing experts explain why the Moon is hard.