HOUSTON – NASA on Monday unveiled the initial elements of the Global Exploration Strategy and a proposed U.S. lunar architecture, two critical tools for achieving the nation's vision of returning humans to the moon.

NASA's basic plan is to send robotic exploration landers to one of the poles of the moon. These robtic landers will conduct basic plotting of the territory and perhaps preparation for a human crew. Human crews will arrive at the moon base in short shifts initially before long term crews are stationed there. The moon base will be solar powered.

NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, who is guiding the long-term strategy development effort among 14 of the world's space agencies, said, "This strategy will enable interested nations to leverage their capabilities and financial and technical contributions, making optimum use of globally available knowledge and resources to help energize a coordinated effort that will propel us into this new age of discovery and exploration."