Trump pushes $20 billion NASA lunar base to beat China to the moon
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NASA races to launch an agency permanent human presence on the moon The USA is trying to defeat China’s targets on the lunar surface in an environment where competition in space is intensifying.
The Trump administration’s push for a nearly $20 billion moon base marks a major shift in NASA’s strategy; is moving away from plans for a lunar-orbiting space station and toward building infrastructure directly on the moon as a long-term mainstay for deep space exploration.
“This time it’s not about flags and footprints,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in outlining the plan. “This time our aim is to stay.”
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“The reason you want to have a moon base is because it acts as the focal point of our ongoing efforts to not only be around the Earth, but to go deep into space,” Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at space exploration nonprofit The Planetary Society, told Fox News Digital. “That’s why we have cell towers in Antarctica.”
A sustained presence on the moon would allow the United States to store supplies, build infrastructure and expand capabilities over time in ways not possible with a station orbiting the moon, Dreier said.
Amid intensifying competition in space, NASA is racing to establish a permanent human presence on the moon as the United States tries to defeat China’s ambitions on the lunar surface. (Austin DeSisto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
This change also reflects a recalibration of NASA’s previous plans. Gateway program — A proposed space station in orbit around the moon that has been the cornerstone of the Artemis program but faces delays, funding uncertainty and growing questions about its necessity.
Originally designed as a staging point for astronauts traveling to and from the lunar surface, Gateway was designed to serve as a communications hub and transfer point in orbit. NASA is now directing resources directly to building infrastructure on the lunar surface instead.
While the new approach sharpens NASA’s focus, Dreier cautioned that the administration’s timeline and budget are quite ambitious.
“Probably not,” he said when asked whether $20 billion would be enough to build and maintain a moon base. “This is an ambitious level.”
Dreier added that the roughly seven-year timeline is aggressive, especially given the technical challenges of working on the moon, suggesting that the effort could begin with a limited initial asset that expands over time.
China has successfully carried out robotic sample return missions by sending materials from the lunar surface to Earth; it’s a technically challenging feat that underscores his growing talents. (Li Jieyi/VCG via Getty Images)
China aims to land astronauts on the moon around 2030; This is a milestone that will mark the first crewed lunar mission and significantly expand its presence beyond Earth orbit.
The push for the moon base comes as follows: China is also advancing rapidly Using its own capabilities, it performs increasingly complex robotic tasks and lays the foundation for a long-term presence on the Moon.
“They went from launching one or two satellites or space science satellites to dozens of launches,” Dreier said. “They have now landed a large amount of mass on the far side of the Moon.”
He also noted that China has successfully carried out robotic sample return missions by sending materials from the lunar surface to Earth; it is a technically challenging feat that underscores China’s growing capabilities.
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“They develop their skills very quickly,” Dreier said. “That’s more capability than the United States currently has on the Moon.”
“On the Moon, China actually has the advantage right now,” he added.
“They went from launching one or two satellites or space science satellites to dozens of launches,” Dreier said. “They have now landed a large amount of mass on the far side of the Moon.”
China is working with international partners, including Russia, on plans for a long-term presence near the Moon’s south pole, which is believed to contain water ice and other important resources.
“We find ourselves facing a true geopolitical rival challenging American leadership in the high ground of space,” Isaacman said.
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The effort to build sustainable operations on the Moon could also strengthen broader U.S. capabilities in space, especially as orbit becomes more contested, Dreier said.
“The moon is the highest place,” he said. “If we have to bicker over space, let’s make it a race to the moon rather than a much more direct and disruptive event in Earth orbit.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to NASA for comment.
