SPACE · 4 MIN READ
Lunar Base Alpha is Now Home to 300 Researchers
Life on the Moon is no longer science fiction. Here's what it looks like in 2050.
By Tara Patel
Lunar Base Alpha has crossed a symbolic threshold, now housing 300 permanent researchers across its expanded regolith-shielded habitat modules. The base runs almost entirely on solar and a compact fusion reactor, with a closed-loop hydroponics system supplying most of the crew's food.
Researchers on-site are studying everything from low-gravity manufacturing to long-duration human physiology, feeding directly into planning for the first Mars settlement missions.