NASA plans $20 billion moon base, but halts lunar space station project
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NASA is scrapping plans to deploy a space station in lunar orbit and instead will use its components to build a US$20 billion base on the moon’s surface over the next seven years, its new chief Jared Isaacman said Tuesday.
Isaacman, who was sworn in at the agency in December, made the announcement at the opening day of a day-long event at NASA’s Washington headquarters, in which he outlined several changes being made to Artemis, the agency’s flagship moon program.
“It really shouldn’t surprise anyone that we are stopping Gateway in its current form and focusing on infrastructure supporting continued operations on the lunar surface,” Isaacman told delegates at the event.
The Lunar Gateway Station, largely already built with contractors Northrop Grumman and Intuitive Machines subsidiary Lanteris Space Systems, was intended to be a space station in lunar orbit. Reusing a spacecraft for lunar surface basing is not easy.
“Despite some real hardware and schedule challenges, we can reuse equipment and international partner commitments to support surface and other program objectives,” Isaacman said.
The Lunar Gateway was designed to serve as both a research platform and a transfer station that astronauts would use to board Moon landers before descending to the lunar surface.
Changes imposed by Isaacman in recent weeks on the key US moon program are reshaping billions of dollars worth of contracts under the Artemis effort.
This is sending companies to adjust with added urgency as China makes progress toward its 2030 moon landing.
