Mars may be a hellhole, but the moon is not far behind

There are just a few obstacles in the way. Welcome to the second space race. You can be forgiven for experiencing déjà vu. Last time, it was the Soviet Union and the United States vying to be the first to plant some flags. And this time it looks like they're getting ready to set up camp. There will be, the contenders say, bases on the moon, permanently inhabited castles under the stars. The notion of a moon base, fanciful as it might sound, isn't new. But this year, under the leadership of Administrator Jared Isaacman, NASA has been flooding the zone with bold announcements . If all goes according to plan--a plan that will likely cost tens of billions of dollars to start--there will be drones, robotic landers, communication satellites, and a nuclear power plant; there will be plant terrariums and moonquake sensors; there will be mechanized scouts exploring craters for water. NASA is building the first nuclear reactor-powered interplanetary spacecraft. Initial astronaut missions to the lunar surface, which the US is currently planning to start in 2028, will be focused on exploration and technological experimentation. But the idea is that we will--some time in the 2030s--get to a point where there will be habitation quarters for long-term stays, surrounded by a network of scientific research stations, resource mining and processing plants, and landing pads for spaceships.