NASA puts moon station on hold, plans $20bn lunar base

NASA is changing the direction of its Artemis programme. The agency’s new chief, Jared Isaacman, has announced that the Lunar Gateway orbital station project will be put on hold in its current form.

Instead, NASA plans to use already developed components to build a base directly on the lunar surface, at a cost of about $20 billion over the next seven years.

According to Isaacman, the move is a logical step towards a long-term human presence on the Moon. However, he acknowledged that transferring technology from an orbital station to the surface will not be easy and presents both technical and time-related challenges.

The shift will also affect contracts worth billions of dollars and force companies to adapt to new priorities. It comes as China makes progress on its plans for a crewed moon landing by 2030.

(reuters, mja)