NASA Scraps Lunar Orbiter, Shifts Focus to $20B Moon Base
New NASA Chief Jared Isaacman announces major changes to Artemis program, including cancellation of lunar orbiting station to fund surface-based Moon base.
NASA is cancelling plans to deploy a space station in lunar orbit and will instead use its components to construct a $20 billion base on the moon's surface over the next seven years, its new chief, Jared Isaacman, announced on Tuesday.
Isaacman, who was sworn in at the agency in December, made the announcement at the opening of a day-long event at NASA's Washington headquarters where he outlined changes he is making to the agency's flagship Artemis moon program.
The shift in focus from an orbiting station to a surface-based base marks a significant departure from the previous Artemis plan, which aimed to establish a Gateway outpost in lunar orbit as a staging point for missions to the moon's surface.
Source: The Guardian
