Earlier this month, I reported that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had substantially revised its launch timing and mission scope for the Artemis program. These missions are geared to landing on the Moon.
But how about staying there?
I noted that when he first became NASA’s administrator, Jared Isaacman promised to build a Moon Base.
Now, the agency has further revised its lunar plans. It is jettisoning plans for a lunar space station to focus on building a Moon Base.
NASA announced on Tuesday it has canceled plans to deploy a space station in lunar orbit and will instead use components from the project to build a $20 billion base on the moon’s surface, while also planning to send a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars.U.S. space agency chief Jared Isaacman, an appointee of President Donald Trump who took charge at NASA in December, announced an array of changes to the Artemis moon program including an aim to send more robotic landers to the moon and lay the groundwork for using nuclear power on the lunar surface.NASA also disclosed plans to launch a spacecraft called Space Reactor 1 Freedom to Mars before the end of 2028 in a mission it said would demonstrate advanced nuclear electric propulsion in deep space. NASA called this a major step forward in bringing nuclear power and propulsion from the laboratory to space. NASA said the spacecraft, once it reaches Earth’s planetary neighbor, will deploy helicopters for exploring Mars.
The announcement was the first time NASA had revealed a timeline and road map for such efforts.
Plans for a moon base would proceed in three phases, Mr. Isaacman said. The first would seek to replace one-off bespoke missions with a “templated approach that will generate significant learning through experimentation,” he said.That will include small robotic landers, the delivery of vehicles that can drive astronauts along the surface and the development of other systems like communications and scientific instruments.The second phase will consist of “semi-habitable infrastructure” that will allow regular visits of astronauts on the lunar surface. The third phase would begin the construction of permanent infrastructure that would allow a continuing human presence there.“The moon base will not appear overnight,” Mr. Isaacman said. To cover the first two phases, he said, “we will invest approximately $20 billion over the next seven years and build it through dozens of missions.”
Meanwhile, Artemis II is poised to take advantage of early-April launch opportunities while the race to build lunar landers continues.
Currently, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are also racing to develop the lunar landers needed to ferry astronauts from Orion down to the moon’s surface. Recent NASA oversight reports have warned that the companies’ efforts lag behind schedule and risk pushing the agency’s plans to land humans on the moon beyond the 2028 goal. Both companies have submitted proposals to NASA for expediting their lunar lander development, but officials have declined to provide details about the plans.Speaking to a room of industry personnel and other space officials, Isaacman warned: “Expect uncomfortable action” if companies underperform on their contracts. That could suggest Isaacman is more willing than his predecessors to pull the cord on projects that turn out to be more costly, difficult and time-consuming than initially thought.
And there is a strong incentive for these missions to succeed.
The rush to return to the satellite first reached by the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969 comes as China works on its own moon mission, aiming to land on the orb in 2030. China and Russia have also touted plans to build a nuclear power plant on the orb’s south pole, as they aim to develop their International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) by 2036.
NASA’s new direction makes one point crystal clear: This time, we are not going back to plant a few flags and footprints, but to build a foothold on the lunar surface that rivals anything Beijing and Moscow are planning.
With a $20 billion moon base, nuclear power on tap, and a tough administrator promising “uncomfortable action” for underperforming contractors, the Artemis reboot looks like a serious bid to secure the ultimate high ground before China’s 2030 deadline comes due.
Here’s hoping all systems are go!
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