The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) canceled its plans to deploy an Earth-built base around the Moon.
Instead, the US space agency has decided to reuse components and build a $20 billion base on the surface of the moon over the next seven years.
In a statement on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman outlined the policy change regarding its lunar program, Artemis.
He said: “It really shouldn’t surprise anyone that we are pausing Gateway in its current form and focusing on the infrastructure that supports sustained operations on the lunar surface.”
The space agency’s Lunar Gateway was a facility similar to the proposed International Space Station (ISS) that would float around the moon and act as a primary base and transfer station for astronauts to conduct further lunar exploration.
The facility has already been partially built by contractors Northrop Grumman and Vantor; However, NASA now plans to reuse the equipment for a base on the lunar surface.
The proposed changes come after China announced plans to begin building a base on the moon by 2030 and complete it by 2035.
Isaacman’s announcement comes as the space agency plans to launch its Artemis II mission on April 1, 2026.
The first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years has already faced multiple delays and it remains to be seen whether NASA will be able to meet the revised schedule.
