What is it about?
This paper maps out what infrastructure humanity needs on the Moon and Mars (landing pads, fuel factories using local ice and air, power systems, and modular habitats) and proposes a phased 20-year plan to build it, from robotic scouts in the 2030s to crewed hubs by the 2050s.
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Why is it important?
As NASA's Artemis program, ESA's Moon Village concept, and commercial ventures like SpaceX Starship accelerate plans for sustained off-world presence, the question shifts from "Can we get there?" to "Can we stay?" This paper is among the first to present a comprehensive, systems-level architecture for extraterrestrial spaceports that integrates in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), autonomous construction, power generation, communications, and governance into a single coherent framework. It is unique in providing quantitative site-selection comparisons for both lunar (Shackleton Crater, Malapert Mountain, Haworth, Nobile) and Martian (Elysium Planitia, Arcadia Planitia, Gale Crater, Jezero) candidates using consistent multi-criteria scoring. The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) assessment honestly identifies that no core technology currently exceeds TRL 7, grounding the roadmap in empirical reality. The proposed Interplanetary Spaceport Development Authority (ISDA) addresses a critical governance vacuum: no existing body coordinates surface infrastructure standards, traffic management, and resource allocation across celestial bodies. This work matters for space agencies, commercial operators, and policymakers planning the transition from exploration to permanent settlement.
Perspectives
Writing this paper forced me to confront the gap between visionary thinking and engineering honesty. It is tempting to describe Mars bases as if they are a decade away, but the TRL data tells a humbler story: we have demonstrated oxygen production on Mars at roughly 10 grams per hour with MOXIE, while a crewed ascent vehicle needs roughly 30 kilograms per hour. That is a factor of a thousand. I included those numbers deliberately because I believe the space community serves the public better when it is transparent about scale. What gives me optimism is the phased structure: we do not need to solve everything at once. Robotic site surveys in the 2030s, precursor outposts in the 2040s, and crewed operations in the 2050s is an achievable sequence if we commit to iterative validation. I also feel strongly that governance cannot be an afterthought. If we wait until multiple nations and companies are operating on the lunar south pole to figure out traffic rules and resource rights, we will have created conflicts that could have been prevented. The ISDA concept is my attempt to get ahead of that problem.
Wanjiku Chebet Kanjumba
University of Florida
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Exploring the Foundations of Interplanetary Logistics: Spaceport Infrastructure for the Moon and Mars, New Space, July 2026, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/21680256261469319.
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