A steady-state model for first order of magnitude estimates of lunar base masses is presented. The main focus of the model is upon the derivation of initial and annual resupply mass estimates for a lunar base at certain development stages. These estimates are a function of several thousand input parameters and boundary conditions such as crew size, lunar base location, and environmental conditions, but also specific system masses, specific power requirements, and specific thermal loads. This integrated lunar base model indicates which systems and subsystems have the greatest mass impact on the overall base. Also, brief overviews of possible activities at a lunar base and of lunar development strategies are given.

LunarSat, the Lunar Academic and Research Satellite, is a micro-spacecraft that will be sent into an orbit around the Moon to perform scientific investigations concerning the lunar environment and its characteristics. The objective of the LunarSat mission is also to serve as an educational and outreach project. LunarSat is designed by young engineers, scientists, and students from around Europe, with support from numerous institutions and space industry. It shall be launched as an auxiliary payload on an Ariane 5 ASAP platform and will have a mass of 100 kg in GTO. LunarSat will orbit the Moon on a highly elliptical polar orbit with its perilune above the lunar south pole area. This orbital strategy yields the possibility to obtain images of the lunar south pole region with a resolution never achieved before. Radar experiments aboard will also allow to provide further evidence regarding the existence of water ice in the lunar polar craters.