On Tuesday, March 24, 2026, during the Ignition event, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a new lunar policy that includes, among other measures, abandoning plans to build and deploy the Lunar Gateway orbital station around the Moon in favor of establishing a permanent lunar base on its surface, as well as developing a nuclear-powered spacecraft, Space Reactor-1 Freedom.
Images: NASA
“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. This is why it is essential we leave an event like Ignition with complete alignment on the national imperative that is our collective mission. The clock is running in this great‑power competition, and success or failure will be measured in months, not years,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
“If we concentrate NASA’s extraordinary resources on the objectives of the National Space Policy, clear away needless obstacles that impede progress, and unleash the workforce and industrial might of our nation and partners, then returning to the Moon and building a base will seem pale in comparison to what we will be capable of accomplishing in the years ahead.”
NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said:
“Today we are aligning NASA around the mission. On the Moon, we are shifting to a focused, phased architecture that builds capability landing by landing, incrementally, and in alignment with our industrial and international partners. In low Earth orbit (LEO), we are recognizing where the market is and where it isn’t, recognizing the incredible value of the International Space Station, and building a transition that builds a competitive commercial ecosystem rather than forcing a single outcome the market cannot support. In our science missions, we are opening the lunar surface to researchers and students nationwide, and with Space Reactor‑1 Freedom, we are finally putting nuclear propulsion on a trajectory out of the laboratory and into deep space. And this is all possible by investing in our people, bringing critical skills back into the agency, putting our teams where the machines are being built, and creating real pathways for the next generation of NASA leaders. Our workforce is the jewel of NASA, and from their leaders, they need clear mission goals, the tools to execute, and to get out of their way. This is what Ignition is about.”
Return To Moon
The decisions announced under the Ignition initiative build on recent updates to the Artemis program, including the standardization of the Space Launch System (SLS) configuration, the addition of an extra mission in 2027, and a plan for at least one lunar surface landing per year. Under this updated architecture, the Artemis III mission – scheduled for 2027 – will focus on testing integrated systems and operational capabilities in Earth orbit ahead of the Artemis IV lunar landing.
Looking ahead, NASA announced that it will increasingly rely on reusable and commercially procured vehicles to enable frequent and cost-effective crewed missions to the lunar surface, initially planning landings every six months, with the potential to increase frequency as capabilities evolve.
To ensure a sustained human presence on the Moon, NASA also outlined a phased approach to building a lunar base. As part of this strategy, the agency intends to halt work on the Lunar Gateway station in its current form and instead focus on infrastructure supporting continuous operations on the lunar surface. Despite challenges related to existing hardware, NASA plans to repurpose suitable equipment and leverage commitments from international partners to achieve these goals.
In the coming days, NASA will issue Requests for Information (RFI) and draft Requests for Proposals (RFP) to ensure continued progress toward its program objectives.
Construction of lunar base
NASA’s plan to establish a sustained presence on the Moon will be implemented in three planned phases.
- Phase One: Build, Test, Learn
NASA is moving away from bespoke, infrequent missions toward a repeatable, modular approach. Through deliveries under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) program, the agency will increase the pace of activity by deploying rovers, instruments, and technology demonstrators that advance mobility, power generation (including radioisotope heater units and radioisotope thermoelectric generators), communications, navigation, surface operations, and a wide range of scientific research.
- Phase Two: Initial Infrastructure Development
Building on lessons learned from earlier missions, NASA will move toward establishing partially habitable infrastructure and regular logistics. This phase will support recurring astronaut operations on the lunar surface and will include significant international contributions, such as JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) pressurized rover, as well as potential additional scientific payloads, rovers, and infrastructure or transport provided by partners.
- Phase Three: Enabling Long-Term Human Presence
With the development of cargo-capable lunar landers under the Human Landing System (HLS) program, NASA will deliver the heavier infrastructure required to establish a permanent human foothold on the Moon, marking the transition from periodic expeditions to a sustained lunar base. This will include Multi-Purpose Habitation (MPH) modules from the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the Lunar Utility Vehicle (LUV) from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and additional potential contributions in habitation, surface mobility, and logistics.
Ensuring a U.S. Presence in Low Earth Orbit
While building a sustainable lunar architecture, NASA is also reaffirming its commitment to operations in low Earth orbit (LEO). For more than two decades, the International Space Station (ISS) has served as a world-class orbital laboratory, enabling over 4,000 scientific studies, supporting more than 5,000 researchers, and hosting representatives from 26 countries (including Poland). The ISS required 37 Space Shuttle missions, 160 spacewalks, two decades of work, and over 100 billion USD to design, develop, and construct. However, the orbital laboratory cannot operate indefinitely. The transition to commercial stations must be carefully planned, deliberate, and structured to ensure long-term industry success.
NASA is introducing, and seeking industry feedback on, an additional LEO strategy that preserves existing pathways while adding a phased, ISS-based approach to avoid any gaps in human presence in space and to foster a robust commercial ecosystem. Under this alternative model, NASA would procure a government-owned core module to be attached to a space station, followed by commercial modules that would be validated for ISS compatibility and later detached for free-flying operations. Once technical and operational maturity is achieved and market demand is met, these stations would separate, with NASA becoming one of multiple customers purchasing commercial services. To stimulate the orbital economy, NASA plans to expand industry opportunities, including private astronaut missions, the sale of commander seats, joint missions, multi-module competitions, and procurement initiatives.
On Wednesday, March 25, a Request for Information (RFI) was issued to define partnership structures, funding mechanisms, and risk mitigation approaches.
Advancing Transformational Discoveries Through Current and Emerging Science Missions
In what it describes as a golden era of exploration and discovery, NASA is leveraging every opportunity to advance science in space. The James Webb Space Telescope continues to reshape our understanding of the early universe, the Parker Solar Probe has flown through the Sun’s atmosphere, NASA has demonstrated planetary defense by altering the trajectory of an asteroid, and Earth observation data are widely used by U.S. companies, agriculture, and disaster response efforts. On the ISS, NASA is conducting groundbreaking experiments in quantum science.
Upcoming missions are expected to further strengthen the United States’ leadership in space science. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in the fall, will deepen our understanding of dark energy and set a new standard for managing large-scale scientific missions. In 2028, under the New Frontiers program, the radioisotope-powered Dragonfly octocopter will be launched and is expected to arrive at Titan, Saturn’s moon, in 2034 to study its complex, organic-rich environment. Also in 2028, NASA will launch and deliver to Mars the European Space Agency’s Rosalind Franklin rover, equipped with NASA’s mass spectrometer for the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA), potentially enabling the most advanced detection and analysis of organic matter ever conducted on Mars. A new Earth science mission scheduled for launch next year will, for the first time, measure the evolution of convective storm dynamics to improve the prediction of extreme weather events up to six hours in advance.
NASA also emphasized that advances in lunar science will be supported by the construction of a lunar base, forming the foundation for future exploration of the Moon and Mars. By accelerating the CLPS program, aiming for up to 30 uncrewed landings starting in 2027, the agency will speed up the delivery of scientific payloads and technologies to the lunar surface. Numerous payload delivery opportunities will be available, including for rovers, hoppers, and drones, with strong engagement from industry, academia, and international partners. Near-term payloads include the VIPER rover and the LuSEE-Night mission.
On March 24, a Request for Information was issued seeking payloads capable of supporting NASA’s scientific and technological objectives for additional missions in 2027 and 2028. This will enable students and researchers across the country to work on scientific instruments intended for use on the lunar surface in the coming years. The RFI will also solicit payloads for future Mars missions, including contributions to the Mars Telecom Network (MTN) and a nuclear technology demonstration mission.
The agency also intends to collaborate with philanthropic and privately funded organizations that share its goals in space science.
Other Published RFIs
On March 24, a Request for Information was issued regarding the strengthening of partnerships under the “Science as a Service” program and the development of commercial capabilities, enabling NASA to streamline its existing operations and focus its investments on transformational missions that only the agency can lead.
Finally, NASA presented a previously unpublished pair of images from the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope. These images show the planet Saturn in unprecedented detail, both in infrared and in visible light.
Space Reactor-1 Freedom
The United States Advances Nuclear Power in Space
In addition to these scientific missions, after decades of research and in response to the National Space Policy, NASA announced a major step forward in bringing nuclear energy and propulsion from the laboratory into space.
NASA plans to launch the Space Reactor-1 Freedom to Mars before the end of 2028, the first interplanetary spacecraft powered by nuclear energy, demonstrating advanced Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) in deep space. NEP offers exceptional capabilities for efficient mass transport in deep space and enables high-power missions beyond Jupiter, where solar panels are no longer effective.
The NEP system operates as follows: a small nuclear reactor with an output exceeding 20 kW generates heat, which is converted into electricity using an advanced closed Brayton cycle. This electricity powers xenon ion engines, the same type originally intended for the PPE (Power and Propulsion Element) of the now-canceled Lunar Gateway station.
Upon arrival at Mars, SR-1 Freedom will deploy unmanned Skyfall helicopters (successors to Ingenuity) to continue exploration of the Red Planet. The spacecraft will establish a new legacy in nuclear propulsion, set regulatory and launch precedents, and help build an industrial base for future nuclear systems and long-duration missions. NASA and its partner, the U.S. Department of Energy, aim to unlock the capabilities needed for sustainable exploration beyond the Moon and eventual missions to Mars and the outer regions of the Solar System.
None of these initiatives can succeed without NASA’s workforce. As previously announced, the agency is rebuilding its core capabilities by converting thousands of contractor positions into civil service roles and restoring the engineering, technical, and operational capacity expected of the world’s leading space organization.
NASA will expand opportunities for interns and early-career professionals and, in cooperation with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and NASA Force, will create new career pathways for experienced industry talent through term-limited appointments. The agency also aims to provide NASA employees with opportunities to gain valuable experience within the most advanced space industry ecosystem in history.
The changes announced on March 24 will be implemented in the coming months, with teams across the agency ensuring a smooth transition while continuing to advance key programs and partnerships.
NASA will engage subject-matter experts across the entire supply chain, at every major contractor, subcontractor, and critical stage, to challenge assumptions, solve problems, accelerate production, and help deliver the right outcomes.
Through these reforms, NASA is strengthening its ability to implement the President’s National Space Policy and ensure continued U.S. leadership in space.