Pakistan, May 28 -- NASA has announced that its initial missions related to building a lunar base are expected to launch before the end of this year. The update marks a major step in the 's long-term plan to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon. Officials say the project also supports future missions to Mars.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the is learning from past space program models to improve mission success. He added that lunar base development is both an ambitious and high-risk initiative. According to him, NASA is focusing on refining technologies that have worked in earlier exploration efforts.

Read more: NASA's moon flyby mission primed for launch

The lunar base project is part of NASA's Artemis program, ...