NASA is currently looking to get the U.S. back to the Moon after a long hiatus under its Artemis program.
- Artemis 2 is expected to take off in the near future, as per the fintech billionaire and astronaut turned NASA chief.
- According to Isaacman, lunar opportunities include establishing space data centers and infrastructure and potentially mining a rare gas embedded in the moon’s surface called Helium-3.
- NASA will build a moon base and then look into making investments in nuclear power and space nuclear propulsion, he added.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman reportedly said that the U.S. will return to the moon before the end of President Donald Trump’s current term.
Isaacman told CNBC that Trump’s recommitment to exploring the moon is key to unlocking the “orbital economy.” “We want to have that opportunity to explore and realize the scientific, economic and national security potential on the moon,” he said in an appearance on CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime.”
According to Isaacman, lunar opportunities include establishing space data centers and infrastructure and potentially mining a rare gas embedded in the moon’s surface called Helium-3.
NASA will build a moon base and then look into making investments in nuclear power and space nuclear propulsion, he said.
US Plans Moon Return After Half A Century
- NASA is currently looking to get back to the Moon after a long hiatus under its Artemis program. The agency is working with contractors including SpaceX, Blue Origin and Boeing under the mission.
Artemis 1 was an uncrewed test flight of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft around the moon. The upcoming Artemis 2 is intended to be the first crewed mission to the vicinity of the Moon since the late 90s and will also involve the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft. With Artemis 3, the U.S. plans to land humans on the surface of the Moon yet again. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is contracted to build a lunar lander for Artemis 3.
Artemis 2 is expected to take off in the near future, as per the fintech billionaire and astronaut turned NASA chief. Artemis 3 would follow Artemis 2.
Isaacman’s Long-Drawn Appointment
U.S. lawmakers confirmed Isaacman as the next administrator of NASA after a turbulent nomination process earlier this month.
U.S. President Donald Trump first nominated Isaacman late last year but abruptly withdrew the pick just days before a scheduled confirmation vote. The move followed a public fallout between Trump and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, with Isaacman’s political donations and close ties to Musk becoming a point of friction.
Last month, Trump reversed course and renominated Isaacman, calling him uniquely qualified to “lead NASA into a bold new era.” Trump had briefly tapped Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to serve as interim administrator while the nomination remained unresolved.
Isaacman is best known as the founder of payments firm Shift4 Payments and for funding and flying on two private space missions aboard SpaceX rockets and spacecraft.
Isaacman also said on Friday that SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn heavy lift launch vehicles, which are being developed to be readily reusable, will enable U.S. “to go to and from the moon affordably, with great frequency, and set up for missions to Mars and beyond.”
The statement echoes Elon Musk’s plans on taking humans to Mars on SpaceX’s Starship.
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