• PROJECTS
  • Advocacy and Education
  • Extrasolar Planets
  • Innovative Technologies
  • International Mission Participation
  • Mars Exploration
  • Near Earth Objects
  • Search for Extraterrestrial Life
  • Past Projects
• THE PLANETARY REPORT
• PLANETARY RADIO
• BLOG
• SOCIETY UPDATES

browse projects: Apophis Mission Design Competition Asteroids - The Potential Threat Carl Sagan Fund for the Future Catalog of Exoplanets FINDS Exo-Earths International Year of Astronomy 2009 LIFE Experiment: Phobos LightSail - The Future of Solar Sailing Messages from Earth Mirror Bees: Planetary Defense Observing Earth Pioneer Anomaly Planetary Microphones SETI Optical Telescope SETI Radio Searches SETI@home Shoemaker NEO Grants Space Advocacy Space Information

browse space topics: 2001 Mars Odyssey Asteroids and Comets Cassini-Huygens Chandra X-Ray Observatory Chandrayaan-1 Chang'e 1 Compare the Planets Dawn Deep Impact Earth Extrasolar Planets Genesis Hayabusa (MUSES-C) Hubble Space Telescope IKAROS Jupiter Kaguya (SELENE) Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Mars Mars Exploration Rovers Mars Express Mars Global Surveyor Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Science Laboratory Mercury MESSENGER Moon Near Earth Objects Neptune New Horizons Past Missions Phoenix Planetary Analogs Planetary Exploration Timelines Pluto and Charon Private Missions Rosetta Saturn Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence SMART-1 SOHO Space Imaging Spitzer Space Telescope Stardust Trans-Neptunian Objects Ulysses Uranus Venus Venus Express Voyager Weekly Planetary Radio Trivia Contest WISE

Projects: Aim for Mars

International Lunar Way Station

A Recommendation by The Planetary Society

Executive Summary:

The Planetary Society recommends establishment of an international Lunar Way Station - as a first step towards a Planetary Outposts exploration strategy, which systematically builds sustained robotic, then human assets at selected sites on a given planetary body. A Lunar Way Station would serve as a test bed for operational aspects of Planetary Outposts in a closer-to-home environment and would focus lunar missions in the coming decade. Following this strategy would also serve to focus and organize future Martian exploration. In addition, Planetary Outposts would maximize science and engineering effectiveness, bridge robotic and human exploration, improve safety of human missions, and engage the public, while being flexible to budget variations, new scientific and technical results, and international cooperation.

Download the Complete Report

Astronauts at the Lunar Way Station An artist's conception