NASA Plans $20 Billion Lunar Base, Cancels Gateway Station

NASA has announced a major shift in its lunar strategy, unveiling a $20 billion plan to build a permanent human base on the Moon over the next seven years, while canceling the Lunar Gateway project.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency will focus on developing infrastructure on the Moon’s surface to support long-term human presence, using reusable equipment and international partnerships.

The base, planned near the Moon’s south pole, will include astronaut habitats, mobile rovers, and nuclear power systems, and will be developed in phases starting with robotic missions.

The initiative is part of the Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 and prepare for future missions to Mars.

International partners like the European Space Agency, along with companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, will play key roles in the project, as global competition, especially from China, intensifies the race to the Moon.