NASA has announced a series of changes in a strategic review aimed at expanding US lunar dominance and winning the global space race against China.
On Tuesday, NASA chief Jared Isaacman unveiled an ambitious $20 billion plan to build a lunar base on the moon’s surface, while abandoning plans to place a space station known as Gateway in lunar orbit.
According to Administrator Isaacman, who took charge in December, the recent upheaval would expand humanity’s footprint in space as the US pushes to return to the moon ahead of China’s attempt to send its astronauts there by 2030.
He said China has the “will and resources to challenge American exceptionalism in space.”
$20 billion moon base
The long-awaited moon base will house more robotic landers and a fleet of drones, preparing the base for the use of nuclear power on the lunar surface in the coming years.
“This revised step-by-step approach to learning, building muscle memory, reducing risk and gaining trust is exactly how NASA achieved the nearly impossible in the 1960s,” Isaacman said, referring to the U.S. Apollo program.
Space Reactor 1 Freedom Spacecraft to Mars
NASA also plans to send a nuclear-powered spacecraft called Space Reactor 1 Freedom to Mars by the end of 2028.
The mission will highlight the breakthrough in bringing nuclear power and electric propulsion from the laboratory to deep space.
According to Isaacman, once the spacecraft reaches the planet Mars, it will deploy helicopters to explore Mars.
Suspension of the Lunar Gateway station
In a recent overhaul, NASA also suspended the Lunar Gateway station, which was intended to be a lunar orbiting space station, due to hardware, scheduling and structural challenges.
“It should really surprise no one that we are pausing Gateway in its current form and focusing on infrastructure that supports sustainable operations on the lunar surface,” Isaacman said.
The suspension of the lunar space station will bring uncertainty to the future role of Japan, the European Space Agency and Canada in the Artemis program, which agreed to supply parts for the station.
Delays in lunar lander projects
Both Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are racing to develop lunar landers for NASA, with an initial crewed landing target of 2028.
Unfortunately, both companies have fallen behind their original timelines. A recent NASA Inspector General report specifically noted that SpaceX is two years behind schedule.
