Humans have always gazed up at the moon with wonder, and a generation ago, NASA astronauts did the extraordinary by planting a flag and igniting imaginations. Then we got distracted building the International Space Station, and the moon felt distant again - something we visited once and then ghosted.
But that chapter is over. America’s Artemis 2 astronauts just completed the first crewed lunar orbit in 50 years. NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program celebrated breakthrough missions by Firefly’s Blue Ghost, and SpaceX went public. While the public tunes into this new space race, NASA and commercial space companies are already deeply involved - and it’s increasingly clear the moon is the great prize.
The moon is no longer just a place of scientific curiosity; it’s America’s next great economic frontier. Its surface may hold valuable resources, including water ice for sustained human presence, along with potential deposits of hydrogen, helium-3, and other materials for new industries beyond Earth.
Unlocking that future requires capability - systems to land, operate, extract, and sustain life in an unforgiving environment - and political will, especially in Congress, to preserve moon exploration programs. This echoes the spirit of Apollo: ambition, urgency, and national resolve.
Firefly Aerospace CEO Jason Kim notes that just over a year ago on March 2, Firefly put a commercial spacecraft on the lunar surface for the first time in history. Their Blue Ghost lander operated NASA instruments for more than two weeks, drilling, sampling, and surveying. Data beamed back to Earth taught valuable lessons for next steps.
That model is repeatable and being scaled. Another Firefly mission to the moon is planned within the year - targeting the far side with an orbiter to keep us connected to territory no American spacecraft has reached before. Firefly is templating its Blue Ghost lander for multiple science missions each year, sending a fleet of Elytra spacecraft to lunar orbit for communications and imagery, and working toward a larger lander for more infrastructure. This aligns with NASA’s call for monthly robotic and biannual crewed missions for a permanent moon base.
Mining rocks and building factories on the moon may seem like science fiction, but here’s how it unfolds: first, missions map the lunar surface - regolith, mineral deposits, temperature extremes, viability of drilling and communications. Second, next-generation landers pre-position supplies, shelter, power, and equipment before humans arrive. Astronauts then man structures and communications systems forming a permanent base. The final phase: resource extraction and manufacturing. The moon’s gravity is one-sixth of Earth’s, making launching material off the surface cheap. Hydrogen and water ice could become rocket propellant; helium-3 for next-gen energy; rare earth minerals for batteries, smartphones, and medical imaging.
The economic benefits are enormous. The global space economy reached $630 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035, per the World Economic Forum. The moon sits at the center.
Kim’s young son wants to live on the moon someday - and it’s not far-fetched. But it requires action today: more robotic missions, investment in medium and large landers, and political will for NASA’s Moon Base initiative. Congress must fully fund it and protect it from budget volatility. NASA should expand the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program with block-buy contracts, giving companies certainty to invest in landers, orbital infrastructure, and resource operations. CLPS has already done for the moon what Commercial Orbital Transportation Services did for LEO: unlocked innovation, accelerated capability, and proved the model works.
The Artemis 2 mission and Blue Ghost Mission 1 reignited interest in the moon. Now we push ahead with bigger, bolder, repeatable missions. The future lunar economy awaits. Humans will always look up at the moon. Soon they’ll be wondering about the people looking back.