President Donald Trump’s return to the White House provoked fears that NASA’s Artemis Program could be canceled in the name of reducing the federal budget, especially with Elon Musk’s fixation on colonizing Mars. However, the fear of losing a new space race may light a fire to return to the Moon. Jared Isaacman, Trump’s nominee for NASA Administration, told Senate staff last week that it was a matter of national importance that the United States returns astronauts to the lunar surface before China. NASA’s 21st-century Moon program has been on the ropes for years due to technical issues and development delays.
Isaacman isn’t a typical nominee for NASA Administrator. The 42-year-old became a billionaire after founding Shift4 Payments in 1999. Through his interest in flight, he became a qualified military jet pilot as a civilian and then founded Draken International, the world’s largest private air force, in 2012. In recent years, Isaacman has become a private astronaut, contracting SpaceX to conduct his mission. Before his nomination, he conducted the first commercial spacewalk during Polaris Dawn last September, the first mission of his three-part Polaris Program.
China is closer to the Moon that you’d think
Despite his ties to Elon Musk, Isaacman seems to disagree with SpaceX’s CEO on the future of the federal space agency. The billionaire astronaut told Senator Ted Cruz that the Artemis Program would be NASA’s main focus under his leadership, Reuters reports. Musk, on the other hand, has been doing his best to cancel the lunar missions despite SpaceX’s contracts to provide a lander. Isaacman promised that he’ll cancel his Polaris contracts with SpaceX if nominated.
Isaacman’s concerns about losing to China’s space agency aren’t outlandish. Chinese Lunar Exploration Program announced plans to land a pair of taikonauts on the Moon by 2030. So far, the program has sent an uncrewed lander to the Moon and conducted a successful sample return mission. While crewed spaceflight is far more difficult, the agency is currently operating the third iteration of its Tiangong space station. China has the capability to meet its deadline.
The United States is on the back foot. Artemis III, NASA’s first Moon landing this century, was initially scheduled for this year. However, multiple delays have pushed the mission back to 2027. NASA announced in December last year that the most recent delay was caused by a cracked heat shield on the uncrewed Artemis I’s Orion capsule in 2022. The space agency is adamant that temperatures remain at a safe and comfortable level and will use the same shield design for Artemis II. The crewed lunar flyby is scheduled for February 2026.
