NASA sees South Korea as key partner in building moon base - UPI.com

Carlos Garcia-Galan (C), head of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s lunar base program, attends a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, 29 July 2026. Photo by YONHAP / EPA

July 29 (Asia Today) -- NASA is considering cooperation with South Korea in satellite communications, robotics and mobility as the U.S. space agency works to establish a permanently occupied base on the moon in the 2030s.

Carlos García-Galán, manager of NASA's Moon Base program, said Wednesday that international cooperation would be essential to accomplishing the nearly impossible task of establishing a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface.

"South Korea has both an interest in space and the capabilities needed to pursue it, as well as industries that can turn those capabilities into reality," García-Galán said at a media briefing in Seoul.

The Korea AeroSpace Administration hosted the briefing at the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies in southern Seoul.