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NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman unveiled an ambitious set of goals on Tuesday, launching a series of agency-wide initiatives aimed at winning a modern-era space race.
“NASA is committed to achieving the near‑impossible once again, to return to the Moon before the end of President Trump’s term, build a Moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space,” Isaacman said in a statement.
During an “Ignition” event on Tuesday, the plan was revealed, laying out the four main objectives of this American galactic enterprise: return to the Moon, build a U.S. base on the moon, kick-start a “Golden Age” of space exploration, and launch the first interplanetary nuclear-powered spacecraft.
“To return Americans to the Moon, NASA is shifting to an iterative, execution-focused approach – just as we did during Apollo,” Isaacman said on X. “We are standardizing rocket architecture, embedding NASA expertise across industry, and increasing launch cadence to support sustained lunar operations.”
Isaacman also shared an agency-wide message he shared with NASA employees, outlining the goal of crewing a spacecraft for a return flight to the Moon, which is meant to pave the way for further space exploration – namely, a journey to Mars.
“What we learn from building and operating a Moon base will prepare NASA astronauts for the long and inspiring journey to Mars,” he noted.
“Phase One” (of three) of this operation will be a “10-billion-dollar effort,” Isaacman said.
The operation is complex. To sustain human life on the Moon, he said, NASA was building the Moon Base, along with “scalable infrastructure” capable of being moved out of orbit:
– “Frequent robotic landings and mobility testing including MoonFall drones
– Starting in 2027 nearly monthly cadence of equipment and rovers with scientific payloads landing on the Moon.
– Investments in power, communications, and surface mobility
– Scalable infrastructure to support long-term human presence[.]”
According to NASA, the three phases of building the Moon Base are simple: (1) Build, Test, Learn. (2) Establish Early Infrastructure. (3) Enable Long-Duration Human Presence.
Interestingly, with this shift toward a permanent lunar base, NASA is moving its primary focus away from the decades-long laboratory and observation functions of the International Space Station, which it noted, “cannot operate indefinitely.”
While still important, the station will gradually be transformed into a hub for a commercial ecosystem, according to the agency.
“Under this alternative approach, NASA would procure a government‑owned Core Module that attaches to the space station, followed by commercial modules that are validated using International Space Station capabilities and later detach into free flight,” NASA outlined in a press release. “After maturing technical and operational capabilities and market demand is realized, the stations would detach and NASA would be one of many customers purchasing commercial services.”
This new plan suspends NASA’s current project, an orbital lunar space station known as “Gateway,” and shifts those resources toward building the new NASA Moon Base.