NASA ditches lunar station plans to build moon base
NASA is canceling plans to put a space station in lunar orbit and will instead use its components to build a base on the lunar surface within the next seven years, NASA’s new chief Jared Isaacman said.
Isaacman, who was sworn in at the agency in December, made the announcement Tuesday at the opening of a one-day event at NASA’s Washington headquarters, outlining a series of changes to Artemis, the agency’s flagship lunar program.
“It really shouldn’t surprise anyone that we’re pausing the Gateway in its current form and focusing on infrastructure that supports sustainable operations on the lunar surface,” Isaacman told delegates at the event.
Built largely by Lanteris Space Systems, which is owned by contractors Northrop Grumman and Intuitive Machines, the Lunar Gateway station was intended to be a space station parked in lunar orbit. Repurposing the ship for a $20 billion lunar surface base isn’t easy.
“Despite some real hardware and program challenges, we can repurpose equipment and international partner commitments to support surface and other program objectives,” Isaacman said.
The Lunar Gateway is designed to serve as both a research platform and a transfer station that astronauts will use to board their lunar landers before landing on the lunar surface.
The changes Isaacman has implemented in recent weeks to the U.S. flagship lunar program are reshaping billions of dollars worth of contracts under Artemis efforts.
This is leaving companies scrambling to adapt to the extra urgency as China makes progress toward a Moon landing in 2030.
