NASA has unveiled a three-phase plan to build a permanent lunar base by 2032, awarding hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to private companies including Blue Origin.
The base, planned for the moon's south pole and powered by nuclear and solar energy, is part of a $20bn programme first announced in March.
Robotic landers, lunar rovers and hopping drones are expected to begin exploratory missions before the end of the year.
The announcement comes as NASA races to land Americans on the moon before 2029, while China pursues its own crewed lunar landing by 2030.
Al Jazeera's Alexandra Byers reports.
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