NASA's Updated Vision: A Moon Base and a Nuclear Journey to Mars

NASA has revealed a new and ambitious strategy for space exploration. The plan is both bold and expensive. It focuses on creating a base on the Moon within the next decade and sending a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars by 2028.

To achieve these goals, the space agency is temporarily stopping work on two other major projects. The first is the lunar Gateway, a small station that was planned to orbit the Moon. The second is the detailed plan for moving from the International Space Station (ISS) to new, privately owned stations in low Earth orbit.

As an alternative, NASA wants to partner with commercial companies. The idea is to build a government-owned Core Module for the ISS. This module would serve as a docking hub for private space modules. Later, these commercial modules could separate and form their own independent space stations.

Meanwhile, important hardware originally built for the Gateway will now be used for the new Mars mission. This mission is named Space Reactor-1 Freedom, or SR-1 Freedom. The spacecraft will use a nuclear electric propulsion system. Its primary task will be to deliver a unique payload to Mars. This payload will release three helicopters into the thin Martian atmosphere. This mission concept, called Skyfall, builds on the success of NASA's small Ingenuity helicopter on Mars. It resembles an idea proposed earlier by the company AeroVironment.

NASA's tight schedule aims to accomplish three major goals by the end of 2028. These are launching the SR-1 Freedom probe, returning astronauts to the lunar surface with the Artemis 4 mission, and starting construction of a Moon base with Artemis 5. This date also coincides with the end of the presidential term at the time.

During briefings at NASA headquarters, Administrator Jared Isaacman explained the reasons for this rapid change in plans. He identified two main motivations. The first is the national space policy at the time. The second is growing competition from China's advancing space program. "When I say that success and failure comes down to months, we mean it," Isaacman stated.

He admitted that following this timeline will be very challenging. In the prior month, he announced that the first crewed Moon landing since 1972 was delayed from 2027 to 2028. This delay was partly caused by problems in SpaceX's development of a new lunar lander.

In a message to NASA employees, Isaacman recognized that many people are doubtful. "Few disagree with the direction we are taking, but many question the achievability," he wrote. "There is a belief among some that NASA has drifted so far from its best days that we can no longer undertake big, bold endeavors and deliver on them. That is why we must take ownership of the outcomes. We will not sit on our hands and hope industry saves the day."

NASA estimates the cost of the Moon base program over seven years will be about $20 billion. The total cost for the next decade is projected to reach $30 billion. Isaacman pointed out that "a very decent portion" of this money was originally budgeted for the now-paused Gateway program.

"We're just focusing on the main needle-moving objectives in line with the president's national space policy," he explained. "Gateway isn't canceled, but we get a lot of hardware that we've already invested in."

The plan received immediate support from Sen. Ted Cruz. He is a Texas Republican who leads the Senate committee that oversees NASA's budget. He endorsed the strategy in a social media post.

"Space is not just symbolic. It is strategic," Cruz wrote. "A sustained lunar surface presence ensures America, not China, leads the next era of exploration. That is why my bipartisan NASA Authorization Act, which the Senate Commerce Committee approved in its respective legislative session, includes provisions that will support NASA in this effort to make an American moon base a reality. I look forward to continuing to work with NASA to maintain American superiority in space."

Other experts were more skeptical, particularly about the goal of launching a nuclear-powered probe to Mars by 2028.

Chase Million, a former NASA researcher who now runs a data analysis company, said the changes were "unsurprising to most of us, but many details are shocking or confusing."

"For the next few weeks, NASA personnel are going [to be] crushed by questions from the community that they will have trouble answering," Million said in an online post.

Here is a more detailed look at the key elements of NASA's revised strategy.

A Permanent Moon Base NASA envisions a three-step process to set up a lasting human presence on the Moon. First, the agency will send more robotic missions. These include the VIPER rover to search for water ice, the LuSEE-Night radio observatory, and a set of rocket-powered reconnaissance drones called Moonfall. The second phase will concentrate on constructing basic, semi-habitable structures on the lunar surface. The final phase would involve sending permanent living quarters and large, heavy-duty rovers. To provide power for all this activity, NASA plans to develop radioisotope batteries and small nuclear reactors for the Moon base.

Nuclear Power for Mars Travel NASA has already been studying nuclear reactor designs suitable for powering spacecraft. The reactor for the SR-1 Freedom mission would generate electricity to run a highly efficient ion thruster. Steve Sinacore, NASA's program executive for Fission Surface Power, said that using hardware originally meant for the Gateway could help speed up development of the SR-1 Freedom spacecraft. He also noted that questions about what happens to the spacecraft after it delivers its Skyfall payload to Mars are "still open."

Expanding the Mars Helicopter Fleet The Skyfall mission will use a special dispenser to release three helicopters as it descends through the thin Martian atmosphere. This method is somewhat similar to the "Sky Crane" system used to land the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers. Instruments on these helicopters could be used for important tasks. They could scout potential landing sites for future missions and explore other scientifically interesting areas.

A New Approach for Space Stations The market for privately funded space activities has not grown as quickly as NASA had hoped. These activities include scientific research, manufacturing, and space tourism. Dana Weigel, NASA's program manager for the International Space Station, said the agency's original plan for commercial stations, established in 2021, was "fraught with a lot of higher risks."

Several companies have already received NASA funding to develop new space stations. These include Axiom Space, Starlab Space, and Orbital Reef. Under the new plan, NASA will ask these and other companies for fresh ideas. The goal is to have them build a Core Module for NASA, plus additional modules. After the ISS is retired, these commercial modules could detach and become their own free-flying outposts.

The current plan is to safely deorbit the ISS around 2030 or 2031. Weigel said NASA will work to ensure commercial alternatives are ready by the time the ISS is gone. "It's really important for us to maintain continuous presence," she emphasized.