The US space agency NASA has announced a change in approach to the lunar program: the deployment of a station in lunar orbit is abandoned in favor of creating a base directly on its surface.
This was announced by the NASA Administrator, Jared Isaacman.
The new strategy involves an "iterative, execution-oriented approach" with the aim of not only reaching the Moon, but also ensuring a long-term presence there.
Isaacman says that the United States plans to invest USD 20 billion over the next seven years to create a "permanent human presence on the Moon" through the construction of a base.
NASA also pledged to return American astronauts to the Moon before the end of Donald Trump's presidential term. At the same time, the White House stated on social networks that the United States "will never give up on the Moon again."
The updated Artemis program includes an increase in the number of robotic landing modules and preparation for the use of nuclear energy on the surface of the Earth's satellite.
Separately, the agency announced the development of a new spacecraft, Space Reactor-1 Freedom, which should ensure the achievement of Mars by 2028 and the deployment of helicopter-type vehicles similar to Ingenuity on the planet.
Isaacman also stated the presence of a "geopolitical rival" that challenges the United States in space, referring to China.
Recall that for the first time in more than fifty years, humanity can send astronauts beyond Earth's orbit. The last time this happened was in 1972, when the United States completed the legendary Apollo program.
NASA confirmed its intention to create a nuclear power plant on the Moon by 2030 to provide future lunar bases within the Artemis program.
NASA also plans to launch astronauts in the near future on the Artemis II mission, which will fly past the Moon. This mission will lay the groundwork for a potential lunar landing in 2028 by SpaceX or Blue Origin.
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