NASA to spend $20 billion on moon base, cancel orbiting lunar station

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, March 24 - NASA is cancelling plans to deploy a space station in lunar orbit and will instead use its components to construct a $20 billion base on the moon's surface over the next seven years, its new chief Jared Isaacman said on Tuesday.
...
The Lunar Gateway station, largely already built with contractors Northrop Grumman and Vantor, formerly Maxar, was meant to be a space station parked in a lunar orbit. Repurposing the craft for a lunar surface base is not simple.

"Despite some of the very real hardware and schedule challenges, we can repurpose equipment and international partner commitments to support surface and other program objectives," Isaacman said.

Lunar Gateway was designed to serve as both a research platform and a transfer station that astronauts would use to board the moon landers before descending to the lunar surface.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/science/nasa-cancel-orbiting-lunar-station-build-moon-base-instead-2026-03-24/

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NASA Unveils Initiatives to Achieve America’s National Space Policy

Looking beyond Artemis V, NASA announced March 24 it will begin to incorporate more commercially procured and reusable hardware to undertake frequent and affordable crewed missions to the lunar surface, initially targeting landings every six months, with the potential to increase cadence as capabilities mature.

To achieve an enduring human presence on the Moon, NASA also announced a phased approach to building a lunar base. As part of this strategy, the agency intends to pause Gateway in its current form and shift focus to infrastructure that enables sustained surface operations. Despite challenges with some existing hardware, the agency will repurpose applicable equipment and leverage international partner commitments to support these objectives.
...
Phase One: Build, Test, Learn
NASA shifts from bespoke, infrequent missions to a repeatable, modular approach. Through CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) deliveries and the LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) program, the agency will increase the tempo of lunar activity, sending rovers, instruments, and technology demonstrations that advance mobility, power generation (including radioisotope heater units and radioisotope thermoelectric generators), communications, navigation, surface operations, and a wide range of scientific investigations.

Phase Two: Establish Early Infrastructure
With lessons from early missions in hand, NASA moves toward semi‑habitable infrastructure and regular logistics. This phase supports recurring astronaut operations on the surface and incorporates major international contributions, including JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) pressurized rover, and potentially other partner scientific payloads, rovers, and infrastructure/transportation capabilities.

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-unveils-initiatives-to-achieve-americas-national-space-policy/

(OP was originally from The Straits Times, but that is paywalled further down the article: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/nasa-to-spend-20-billion-on-moon-base-cancel-orbiting-lunar-station )

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. So presumably all this at this page is now inoperative:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/gateway/

[RussBLib]

12. Probably

I would have taken it down before the announcement, but that’s just me. That’s quite a change in direction.

SpaceX was heavily involved with Gateway. I wonder if this announcement had anything to do with Musk’s abrasive and fascist personality?

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. It's notable that what they said at the start of this month is SpaceX and Blue Origin are in competition

for the first Artemis lunar landing:

Artemis III: NASA added a new demonstration mission in low Earth orbit in mid-2027 to test one or both commercial landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin respectively. The mission will launch crew in Orion on top of the SLS rocket to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and private commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon. This test will take place with one or both providers.

Artemis IV: NASA continues to target the first Artemis lunar landing in early 2028, which has been the target landing date since mid-2025. After launch, crew will transfer from Orion to a commercial lunar lander for transportation to the surface of the Moon. Lander readiness will determine which provider will safely carry them to the surface and back to Orion in lunar orbit before crew return home aboard Orion – splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean. Work to standardize the SLS rocket will be implemented for Artemis IV. With this architecture approach, NASA is assessing alternative options for the second stage of the rocket. The interim cryogenic propulsion stage used for the first three missions will be replaced with a new second stage, and the agency is no longer planning to use the Exploration Upper Stage or Mobile Launcher 2, as development of both has faced delays.

Artemis V: Using the standardized configuration of the SLS rocket, NASA anticipates launching this lunar surface mission by late 2028, and future missions about once per year thereafter. This mission also is when NASA is expected to begin building its Moon base.

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/esdmd/nasa-strengthens-artemis-adds-mission-refines-overall-architecture/

Bezos had deployed his billions in support of Trump, with less of an ego than Musk (I'm not saying he has no ego, of course ...), so that probably helps his company.

[Blues Heron]

2. While they cut people's food aid

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Oh, they mean Trump Base

with giant Trump statue you can see from Earth (remember us?) with binoculars. For the people, you know.

[Fla Dem]

4. Exactly what I thought. He wants a permanent lunar base with his f'king name on it.

[Midnight Writer]

5. Whitey's on the Moon - Gil Scott-Heron

[sdfernando]

6. Why do I keep thinking of this???

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Sky

[Javaman]

7. At this point in time, I don't believe any of this will be built.

perhaps, if we have another administration in the future, and they make this type of announcement, I would more apt to believe it.

[Jacson6]

8. We don't need to waste taxpayer money on a moon base.

If people want a moon base then it should be built with private money. If they want to go to Mars then that should be private money also.

[mopinko]

9. good luck w this part-

international partner commitments

who’s stupid enough to partner w us now?

[maxsolomon]

10. 20 billion is 1/10th of an Iran War Supplemental

Sounds like a relative bargain for a Moon Base!

[twodogsbarking]

11. Soon the Trump Administration will announce they have won the war on the moon without anyone's help.

Damn the torpedoes let's take over the sun.

[LudwigPastorius]

14. An orbital moon base was a dumb idea anyway.

It was just a needless, and massively expensive, intermediary step toward establishing a base on the surface.

[SergeStorms]

15. We, the People of the United States of America....

hereby elect Donald J. Trump the first President of the Moon. The "Moon White House" beckons, your Assholiness. Buh-bye.

[DBoon]

16. In space, no one can hear you rant

[Owl]

17. Such a waste of money.

[Bengus81]

18. 20B? ROFLMAO!! Add another zero onto that and it still might not be enough

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. It'll only be "semi-habitable". That's a major cost saving there.

What they mean by that doesn't seem apparent, yet. With comfy beds for Moon gravity, but no air? Air, but no temperature control? No water? Food?

[hunter]

20. It's a Hail Mary...

... keeping the program alive in a comatose state, hoping it will survive until they have the actual resources to get the job done.

Next thing to go will be the NRHO and polar landing, making the Artemis Project a simple repeat of the Apollo Project... assuming it ever does land on the moon.

I have trouble understanding why we are sending humans back to the moon. Anything humans can do in space our machines can do better using fewer resources. I doubt humans will ever have a significant presence in space. We're just too fragile.

[oasis]

21. Oh hell no!

[Yeller]

22. Very good news mostly

The Gateway was only really needed if trips were irregular and not a true base. Might as well have the base on the moon itself. Good job, Jared is a good guy.

[Orrex]

23. I miss you already.