LEGS
NASA Science ·
LEGS Image Gallery The post LEGS appeared first on NASA Science .
Expanding our capacity to bring more data home from the Moon. To meet America’s growing needs for lunar exploration, NASA is working with industry to build a global network of state-of-the-art ground stations, known as Lunar Exploration Ground Sites (LEGS).
The ground stations will provide high-availability, direct-to-Earth communications coverage for missions operating between 36,000 kilometers and 2 million kilometers from Earth, increasing the Near Space Network’s capacity to send and receive lunar data.
Talking to the Moon Expanding Ground Infrastructure Industry Parternships Technical Specifications LEGS Image Gallery Featured Video Returning to the Moon to Stay Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Expanding Ground Infrastructure The Near Space Network provides missions within 1.25 million miles of Earth with robust communications and navigation services. Using space relays and a blend of government and commercial antennas, the network brings back terabytes of critical science and exploration data from missions operating near-Earth.
The Lunar Exploration Ground Sites are a set of specialized ground communication facilities that will support lunar exploration missions, including the Artemis program. Credit NASA // Reed Elliott LEGS Technical Specifications LEGS Technical Fact Sheet Review the technical specifications for LEGS infrastructure.
Talking to the Moon NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) is building global partnerships to advance lunar communications and navigation technologies and establish international standards for a resilient, interoperable future on and around the Moon.
An artist’s concept of Direct-to-Earth communications on the surface of the Moon Credit NASA // Morgan Johnson. Partnering with Industry In May 2026, NASA released a Sources Sought Notice as market research to identify commercial companies capable of supporting the LEGS initiative. By 2027, the agency will release a solicitation and select one industry partner to build and operate the lunar ground stations.
Through commercial partnerships, the agency intends to establish a network of commercial ground stations distributed around the world for continuous communications coverage. Credit NASA // Hannah Obremski Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Communicating with Missions
SCaN & Moon to Mars
Near Space Network
Artemis
The post LEGS appeared first on NASA Science .