NASA aims to construct a lunar base through the Artemis program, a manned lunar exploration initiative. However, the practical reality of what the general public envisions for the space base differs somewhat from well-known science fiction movies. To build a base on the moon using abundant and diverse construction materials, significant transportation costs are involved. All these materials must be launched from Earth using rockets.

Because transporting construction materials from Earth to the moon is costly and time-consuming, local materials must be utilized in order to establish a lunar base.

One promising method for lunar base construction using local materials is microwave sintering, which solidifies lunar regolith (soil) below its melting point.

The NASA-led Artemis-3 mission will place the first human boots on the surface of the moon since Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt left the lunar surface in December 1972.

The goal of the Artemis program is to establish a permanent human presence on Earth's natural satellite and an economy based around the moon. Artemis-3 is scheduled for no sooner than September 2026. However, further delays are likely and there are many technical challenges yet to overcome. Some might wonder whether it is going to happen at all.

I am convinced it will, because unlike the Apollo program, which would be unaffordable in today's climate, the current lunar endeavor will pay off in financial and exploration terms. Extracting water ice from craters at the lunar south pole could facilitate journeys from the moon to other destinations such as Mars, bringing down the cost of space exploration.

This is why the booming space industry seems fixed on the moon as a destination right now—countries simply cannot afford to miss this boat.