NASA plans a city on the moon

From the Earth to the moon and beyond. NASA announced plans to establish a base on the moon and make it into a permanent city by 2024. Crews of four astronauts are expected to work on the base, a week at a time, beginning around 2020.

To cover the costs, NASA is planning to keep its current budget of $17 billion and use the money saved by scrapping the space shuttle program. The space agency plans to coordinate commercial and international assistance with the program. It consulted 13 space agencies from different countries while formulating the initial plan.

One of the main goals of the project is to establish a stepping-off point for human exploration and colonization of Mars.

An artist's illustration shows one of the first structures landing on the moon.

CNET