NASA plans $20 billion moon base, but pauses lunar space station project

Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]

“NASA is cancelling plans to deploy a space station in lunar orbit and will instead use its components to construct ‌a $20 billion US base on the moon’s surface over the next seven years, its new chief Jared Isaacman said 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 at which he outlined a raft ​of changes he is making to the agency’s ⁠flagship moon program ⁠Artemis. … The Lunar Gateway station, largely already built with contractors Northrop Grumman and Vantor, formerly Maxar, was meant to be a space station ‌in a lunar orbit. Repurposing the craft for a lunar surface base is not simple.” (03/24/26)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/nasa-lunar-gateway-9.7140073