Part 6, the final in the series follows Part 5 of the series that discussed how to get enough Supplies and Equipment to the Moon.

This series looks at the 6 key things needed to achieve such a mission.

The 6 Key Needs for Continues Moon Mission

What does an ongoing Moon mission need?

1. People need to be ferried between Earth and LEO
2. People need to be ferried between LEO and Low Lunar Orbit (LLO)
3. People need to shuttle between LLO and Moon's surface
4. There needs to be a transfer point in LLO
5. Supplies and equipment need to be ferried to the Moon surface from Earth
6. A Moonbase on the surface needs to be established and continuously expanded (at least for a number of years)

This post looks at need 6.

6. A Moonbase on the surface needs to be established and continuously expanded (at least for a number of years)

By far the simplest and most logical way to create a Moon base at the start of lunar expansion is using HLS Starships.

Rather than landing and launching again after a week, a Moon base Starship would remain permanently on the ground.

There are various plans to tip Starships over and cover them with regolith to use as a base. However, the logistics of this are complex so let’s shelve that idea for now. It’s far simpler to use them as they land until they’re no longer needed.

SpaceX produces Starships in a factory and can keep rolling them out until they’re no longer needed. Thus, a Moon village could be built quickly with no additional construction required. This rapidly increases the number of people who can live on the Moon.

Landing several of these will provide a large-capacity Moon base for people to operate from until more surface bases are constructed. Rather than put all the energy into building bases, many mission can be carried out right from the start.

The biggest advantage of this approach is that it can happen very early on so there is no lengthy delay to the mission timeline.

The speed at which SpaceX can produce them determines how quickly each expansion can occur.

Using Starship also gives the ability to create multiple lunar surface bases. Want another base somewhere else? Just land another Starship or two—what could be simpler?

Conclusion

This series examined the 6 key elements needed for a continuous Moon mission.

Using only HLS Starships, all the requirements of such a mission profile can be met.

The HLS has the flexibility to be the LEO-to-LLO shuttle, the LLO space station, the lunar lander, and the Moon base.

Adding a regular Starship to the mission also enables large-volume deliveries of cargo and equipment to the lunar surface, greatly expanding mission profile options and enabling true lunar colonization to begin.

It is feasible and could start as early as 2026. Let’s make it happen!