Title 51National and Commercial Space ProgramsRelease 119-73not60

§70505 Lunar Outpost

Title 51 › Subtitle Subtitle VII— Access to Space › Chapter 705— EXPLORATION INITIATIVES › § 70505

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

NASA must not design a Moon outpost that has to be lived in all the time to stay useful. Any outpost must let people tend it but also be able to operate remotely or on its own for long periods. The U.S. part of the first human‑tended Moon outpost must be called the Neil A. Armstrong Lunar Outpost.

Full Legal Text

Title 51, §70505

National and Commercial Space Programs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)As the Administration works toward the establishment of a lunar outpost, the Administration shall make no plans that would require a lunar outpost to be occupied to maintain its viability. Any such outpost shall be operable as a human-tended facility capable of remote or autonomous operation for extended periods.
(b)The United States portion of the first human-tended outpost established on the surface of the Moon shall be designated the “Neil A. Armstrong Lunar Outpost”.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 70505(a)42 U.S.C. 17732(a).Pub. L. 110–422, title IV, § 404(a), (b), Oct. 15, 2008, 122 Stat. 4789. 70505(b)42 U.S.C. 17732(b).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

51 U.S.C. § 70505

Title 51National and Commercial Space Programs

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60