NASA: Moon base & Mars spaceship with nuclear propulsion announced

A presence on the Moon instead of in its orbit: Jared Isaacman, head of the US space agency National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA), has presented new plans for the US lunar program. NASA intends to establish a permanent colony on the Moon.

"NASA is committed to achieving the near-impossible once again, to return to the Moon before the end of President Trump’s term, build a Moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space," said Isaacman. The construction of the Moon colony is planned to take seven years and cost 20 billion US dollars.

The construction of the Moon base is to proceed in three phases: In the first, NASA will bring vehicles and other technology to the Moon for testing. In the next step, partially habitable infrastructure is to be created on the Moon, enabling regular astronaut missions. In the final step, a base is to be established that will be permanently inhabited. In this project, NASA also intends to use technology from the space agencies of Italy, Japan, and Canada.

For the Moon colony, NASA will forgo the construction of the Gateway space station. The space station was to be built in lunar orbit and serve as an intermediate station for missions to the Moon and later to Mars. This is bad news for the European Space Agency (ESA): it was supposed to be involved in the construction of the station.

Competition among space powers

NASA sees itself in competition with other space powers, especially China, which is also planning manned lunar missions and the establishment of a Moon base. "The clock is running in this great-power competition," said Isaacman. "Success or failure will be measured in months, not years."

Isaacman's new timeline is ambitious: US President Donald Trump's term ends with the inauguration of his successor in January 2029. In February, NASA announced it would land on the Moon on the mission after next, Artemis-3. Artemis-3 is scheduled to launch in 2027 and conduct various tests in preparation for the Artemis-4 mission's lunar landing. Trump set the date for this in 2028.

According to Isaacman, at least "one moon landing per year" is to take place in the following years. In February, NASA even spoke of the possibility of a second lunar landing in 2028. Currently, however, NASA is having problems getting the Artemis-2 mission off the ground, which is supposed to orbit the Moon with a four-person crew on board. After several launch delays, Artemis-2 is scheduled to launch on April 1st.

In addition to the Moon base, Isaacman announced further projects: NASA plans to send a spaceship with nuclear propulsion to Mars. Space Reactor-1 Freedom is scheduled to launch no later than the end of 2028. It will deploy various helicopters, like the extremely successful Ingenuity on Mars.

In addition, NASA intends to ensure a human presence in low Earth orbit even after the end of the International Space Station (ISS). The successor to the ISS is to be built and operated, at least in part, by private companies.

(wpl)