NASA will no longer move forward with its planned space station in lunar orbit, opting instead to redirect those resources toward building a $20 billion base on the moon’s surface within the next seven years, the agency’s new administrator, Jared Isaacman, announced Tuesday.

Isaacman, who took office in December, revealed the decision during the opening session of a full-day event at NASA’s Washington headquarters, where he laid out a series of major changes to the agency’s Artemis moon program.

“It should not really surprise anyone that we are pausing Gateway in its current form and focusing on infrastructure that supports sustained operations on the lunar surface,” Isaacman told delegates at the event.

The Lunar Gateway—largely developed already through contractors such as Northrop Grumman and Vantor, formerly Maxar—was originally intended to function as an orbiting station around the moon. Transitioning its components for use in a surface-based facility presents significant technical challenges.

“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.

The Gateway concept had been designed to serve both as a scientific research hub and as a staging point where astronauts would transfer to lunar landers before heading down to the moon.

The adjustments introduced by Isaacman in recent weeks are reshaping major contracts tied to the Artemis program, involving billions of dollars.

Those changes are forcing aerospace companies to adapt quickly, particularly as China continues advancing toward its own goal of landing astronauts on the moon by 2030.

{Matzav.com}