For the first time, the US is seriously considering a Moon economy. Naturally, NASA is building the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon. NASA wants to create a lunar economy where it is not the only consumer.
Far easier said than done. A lunar economy requires many prerequisites. Resources, a unique environment for scientific research,
low-gravity manufacturing, tourism, or any valuable resource must be there. There must be reliable Moon travel.
Power and communications for equipment and humans on the moon are needed. It's a lot.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has assisted in recent months.
This is crucial since DARPA has a history of supporting successful developing technology.
DARPA bought SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket's first launch.
Last year, the defense agency announced LunA-10, a research on how to support a viable lunar economy by 2035.