Lunar Leap: Building Humanity’s First Cosmic Gateway on the Moon

This year signifies a pivotal moment in humanity’s connection with the moon, as we begin establishing the groundwork for a permanent presence on its surface, setting the stage for our natural satellite to evolve into an industrial center—one that will guide us toward Mars and further.

Cultivating a lunar economy hinges on three vital components: the capability to reach the moon, the resources to refuel for the return trip, and profitable operations on the lunar surface. By 2025, advancements in all three domains will start to take concrete form.

For nearly ten years, the giants of private space exploration—SpaceX and Blue Origin—have been in fierce competition to reach the moon. SpaceX’s newest rocket, Starship, is at the heart of this initiative. Nearly twice the height (121 meters vs. 70 meters), and three times the width (9 meters vs. 3.7 meters) of its forerunner, Falcon 9, Starship undoubtedly boasts impressive dimensions—but it’s also engineered to revolutionize our approach to spaceflight. In contrast to conventional rockets, which are launched once and then discarded, Starship can be reused for multiple missions and even refueled while in orbit. Its enhanced capabilities allow it to transport around 100 metric tons of payload to the moon in a single voyage—an amount that matches all lunar payloads sent throughout history combined, but accomplished in just one trip.

Standard rockets can only transport about 0.1 percent of their total launch weight to the moon, while Starship, with its refueling functionality, can convey about 2 percent. Imagine this: If a conventional rocket were a moving vehicle, it would be like using an 18-wheeler to carry a single suitcase. With Starship, the cost per ton of payload delivered to the lunar surface drastically decreases, rendering moon missions much more economical.

Not far behind is Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander. Although it is smaller than Starship, boasting a capacity of nearly 3 metric tons, Blue Moon is crafted to transport significant machinery and infrastructure—the resources needed to transform the moon from a desolate outpost into a vibrant industrial hub. Together, these vessels are establishing the framework for a budding lunar economy.

In 2025, SpaceX intends to showcase Starship’s complete range of capabilities, including its ability to refuel in orbit and be reused—dramatically reducing lunar transport expenses and enhancing access to the moon like never before. This forms part of an ongoing series of orbital flight trials, which commenced in 2023 and will extend into 2025.