The US revises its Moon programs again: no longer an orbital station but a lunar base.
NASA has announced its intention to suspend the Gateway space station project in lunar orbit to focus resources on building a base on the Moon’s surface.
This emerged during the “Ignition” meeting organized by the US space agency to present new initiatives related to US space policy regarding the Artemis program, NASA’s lunar program.
The declared goal is an ambitious $20 billion plan to return humans to the Moon and build a permanent base there to develop a stable and lasting human presence, through a program structured in multiple phases and involving international partners.
The announcement comes about a week before NASA plans to send humans around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, as part of the Artemis II mission, notes Bloomberg. Moreover, the decision to suspend the Gateway orbital station project has sparked reactions and assessments from the European Space Agency (ESA), which actively participates in the project.
All the details.
WORDS FROM NASA’S TOP EXECUTIVE
“NASA is committed to once again achieving the impossible: returning to the Moon before the end of President Trump’s term, building a lunar base, establishing a lasting presence, and doing whatever it takes to ensure American leadership in space,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
STRATEGY SHIFT FOR LUNAR EXPLORATION
“As part of this strategy – NASA explains in a statement – the agency intends to suspend Gateway in its current form and focus on infrastructure that enables sustained surface operations. Despite difficulties encountered with some existing equipment, the agency will reuse suitable hardware and leverage commitments from international partners to support these goals.”
Furthermore, Isaacman justifies, “Taxpayers support NASA because we can change the world in the air, space, and science, and inspire the next generation,” therefore “We cannot scatter our energies trying to undertake dozens of distractions imposed externally and self-imposed, diving straight into a dream at the expense of a feasible strategy.”
A THREE-PHASE PROGRAM
The new strategy foresees a progressive approach to building the lunar base. In the first phase, called “build, test, learn,” NASA intends to increase the number of robotic missions to the Moon, sending rovers, scientific instruments, and technology demonstrators. Up to 30 robotic landings are planned starting from 2027, aiming to accelerate the transfer of technology and knowledge to the lunar surface.
The second phase will focus on building the first semi-habitable infrastructures and developing regular logistics. In the third phase, NASA and its commercial partners will deliver larger habitats and vehicles, including equipment provided by international partners such as the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), moving from short-duration missions to a permanent human presence on the Moon.
NO LONGER NEEDING LUNAR GATEWAY, BUT A LUNAR BASE
To better achieve this goal, Carlos Garcia-Galan, head of NASA’s Lunar Base program, announced that the agency is therefore moving away from the Gateway architecture and will instead focus on building the lunar base. Gateway program systems and hardware will be reused to accelerate progress on the lunar base, Garcia stated.
This could impact one of the Gateway’s habitation modules, called Halo, under construction by Northrop Grumman, and another habitation module, I-Hab, being built by the European Space Agency (ESA), Bloomberg notes.
EUROPE’S ROLE IN THE GATEWAY PROGRAM
Europe is among the main partners of the Gateway project within the Artemis program. The European contribution includes key modules such as I-Hab, intended to house astronauts, and Esprit, designed to ensure communications, resupply, and logistical support.
Numerous European companies participate in the station’s construction, with a significant role played by the Italian industry. In exchange for these contributions, ESA was supposed to obtain the opportunity to have European astronauts participate in future lunar missions.
ESA’S REACTIONS
The announcement of Gateway’s suspension has impacted the international partners involved in the project. The European Space Agency has communicated that it has initiated internal and external consultations to analyze the implications of the decision.
According to an official statement, ESA “is closely consulting its member states, international partners, and the European industry to assess the implications of NASA’s announcement.”
