ITEM OF THE WEEK

NASA’S REINVIGORIZATION

Originally appeared March 31, 2026

NASA Administrator Jarod Isaacman and his leadership team rolled out an ambitious plan for NASA in the coming years. It will include a return to the Moon, building a lunar base, creating a robust human presence in LEO while retaining/expanding a capability to utilize LEO for Earth observation, and the development of the technologies that will take us to Mars.

Back to the Moon

Last week, NASA announced a series of transformative agencywide initiatives designed to advance American leadership in Space. “These actions reflect the urgency of the moment, but also the tremendous opportunity ahead for world-changing science and discovery.”

NASA is committed to return to the Moon by 2028, build a Moon base, and establish an enduring presence. NASA will expand on the present Artemis program to be more focused on a phased architecture that builds capability landing by landing, incrementally, and in alignment with our industrial and international partners. 

The Artemis mission plans have been revised (this link is the source of the quotes below).

• Artemis 2 will fly an open return loop around the Moon as previously planned
• Artemis 3 will not be a lunar landing attempt. Rather, it will be a test flight in LEO. “NASA added a new demonstration mission in low Earth orbit in mid-2027 to test one or both commercial landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin respectively. The mission will launch crew in Orion on top of the SLS rocket to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and private commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon. This test will take place with one or both providers.”
• Artemis 4: “NASA continues to target the first Artemis lunar landing in early 2028, which has been the target landing date since mid-2025. After launch, crew will transfer from Orion to a commercial lunar lander for transportation to the surface of the Moon. Lander readiness will determine which provider will safely carry them to the surface and back to Orion in lunar orbit before crew return home aboard Orion – splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean. Work to standardize the SLS rocket will be implemented for Artemis 4. With this architecture approach, NASA is assessing alternative options for the second stage of the rocket. The interim cryogenic propulsion stage used for the first three missions will be replaced with a new second stage, and the agency is no longer planning to use the Exploration Upper Stage or Mobile Launcher 2, as development of both has faced delays.”
• Artemis 5: “Using the standardized configuration of the SLS rocket, NASA anticipates launching this lunar surface mission by late 2028, and future missions about once per year thereafter. This mission also is when NASA is expected to begin building its Moon base.”

Building From the Bottom Up

“Upgrading NASA’s basic infrastructure significantly is necessary to accomplish the new, bold plans. This will involve restoring NASA’s “can do” attitude and capability that got NASA to the Moon over 50 years ago, both by leadership and funding.

Human Factors: Restoring NASA’s Core Competencies: Administrator Isaacson stressed that NASA “is returning to a culture of competence, ownership, and urgency.” This will require that NASA “urgently restore and retain in-house engineering, operational, and scientific excellence, and reclaim technical autonomy.” This part of the new plan will require a massive influx of veterans lost recently in NASA’s downsizing, and by “convert(ing) contractors to civil servants – in the thousands – with a focus on areas of core competence.” NASA will “identify and place high-impact technical talent into mission-critical roles supporting NASA’s exploration, research, and advanced technology priorities.” 

Human Factors: In addition to adding veterans to NASA’s workforce, NASA will enhance efforts to prepare students to enter the aerospace industry via a series of real-world learning challenges, among them: robotics and rovers, microgravity design, spacesuit technology, and rocketry. NASA will continue and expand its robust set of internship programs where 2000+ students annually get exposure to real-world engineering problems. Good people are essential to NASA’s future success, but a significant upgrade will also be required.

Investing in NASA Infrastructure: NASA is embarking on a $1B investment to modernize critical infrastructure by building out: “reliable, modern facilities that reduce operational risk and disruptions, upgraded capabilities that increase mission throughput and support next-generation research, testing and launch operations, (provide) a more predictable operating environment, and lower long-term operating costs, including energy and water.”

Inspiration and Outreach: NASA pioneered the use of the Internet to engage and inform the public and give a sense of vicarious participation to the public. A significant upgrade to this effort is in the works, where NASA will partner with established streaming platforms like Amazon Prime, Netflix, and others to come in order to ensure its exploration efforts reach the largest possible audiences.”

The quotes below are from: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-unveils-initiatives-to-achieve-americas-national-space-policy.

Beyond Artemis

“Looking beyond Artemis V, NASA announced March 24 it will begin to incorporate more commercially procured and reusable hardware to undertake frequent and affordable crewed missions to the lunar surface, initially targeting landings every six months, with the potential to increase cadence as capabilities mature.

“To achieve an enduring human presence on the Moon, NASA also announced a phased approach to building a lunar base. As part of this strategy, the agency intends to pause Gateway in its current form and shift focus to infrastructure that enables sustained surface operations. Despite challenges with some existing hardware, the agency will repurpose applicable equipment and leverage international partner commitments to support these objectives.”

Building the Moon Base

“NASA’s plan for establishing a sustained lunar presence will roll out in three deliberate phases.

• Phase One: Build, Test, Learn: NASA shifts from bespoke, infrequent missions to a repeatable, modular approach. Through CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) deliveries and the LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) program, the Agency will increase the tempo of lunar activity, sending rovers, instruments, and technology demonstrations that advance mobility, power generation (including radioisotope heater units and radioisotope thermoelectric generators), communications, navigation, surface operations, and a wide range of scientific investigations.
• Phase Two: Establish Early Infrastructure: With lessons from early missions in hand, NASA moves toward semi‑habitable infrastructure and regular logistics. This phase supports recurring astronaut operations on the surface and incorporates major international contributions, including JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) pressurized rover, and potentially other partner scientific payloads, rovers, and infrastructure/transportation capabilities.
• Phase Three: Enable Long‑Duration Human Presence: As cargo‑capable human landing systems (HLS) come online, NASA will deliver heavier infrastructure needed for a continuous human foothold on the Moon, marking the transition from periodic expeditions to a permanent lunar base. This will include ASI’s (Italian Space Agency) Multi-purpose Habitats (MPH), CSA’s (Canadian Space Agency) Lunar Utility Vehicle, and opportunities for additional contributions in habitation, surface mobility and logistics.”

NASA’s aggressive plan for lunar exploration is not the only thing on NASA’s plate. Three other areas are planned:

Ensuring American Presence in Low Earth Orbit

“While building a sustainable lunar architecture, NASA is also reaffirming its commitment to low Earth orbit. For more than two decades, the International Space Station has served as a world‑class orbital laboratory, enabling more than 4,000 research investigations, supporting more than 5,000 researchers, and hosting visitors from 26 countries. The International Space Station required 37 shuttle flights, 160 spacewalks, two decades, and more than $100 billion to design, develop, and build. The orbital laboratory cannot operate indefinitely. The transition to commercial stations must be thoughtful, deliberate, and structured to support long‑term industry success.

“NASA is introducing and seeking industry feedback on an additional LEO strategy that preserves all current pathways while adding a phased, International Space Station‑anchored approach to avoid any gap in U.S. human presence and mature a robust commercial ecosystem. Under this alternative approach, NASA would procure a government‑owned Core Module that attaches to the space station, followed by commercial modules that are validated using International Space Station capabilities and later detach into free flight. After maturing technical and operational capabilities and market demand is realized, the stations would detach and NASA would be one of many customers purchasing commercial services. To stimulate the orbital economy, NASA would expand industry opportunities, including private astronaut missions, commander seat sales, joint missions, multiple module competitions, and prize‑based awards.”

Advancing World-Changing Discovery with Current, Developing Science Missions

“In a Golden Age of exploration and discovery, NASA takes full advantage of every opportunity to get science into space. The James Webb Space Telescope continues to transform our understanding of the early universe, Parker Solar Probe has flown through the atmosphere of the Sun, NASA has shown it can defend the planet by deflecting asteroids, and Earth science data is used extensively by American companies, U.S. agriculture, and disaster relief. On the International Space Station, NASA is conducting groundbreaking experiments in quantum science.

“Future opportunities will advance U.S. leadership in space science. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, launching as early as this fall, will advance our understanding of dark energy, and has created a new standard for the management of large science missions. Dragonfly will launch a nuclear-powered octocopter in 2028, arriving at Saturn’s moon Titan in 2034 to explore its complex, organic-rich environment. In 2028, NASA will launch and deliver ESA’s (European Space Agency) Rosalind Franklin Rover to Mars, with NASA’s contributed mass spectrometer for the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) instrument, which may result in the most advanced detection and analysis of organic matter ever conducted on Mars. A new Earth science mission launching next year will measure for the first time the evolution of the dynamics within convective storms to improve the prediction of extreme weather events up to six hours before the storm occurs.

“The agency detailed how advancements in lunar science also will be afforded by the build out of the Moon Base and underpin future Moon and Mars exploration. With an accelerated CLPS cadence, targeting up to 30 robotic landings starting in 2027, NASA is expediting delivery of science and technology to the lunar surface. There will be many opportunities for payload delivery including rovers, hoppers, and drones with contributions welcomed from industry, academia, and international partners. Near-term payloads include the VIPER rover and the LuSEE‑Night mission. An RFI will be released March 24 that calls for payloads capable of supporting NASA’s science and technology goals for additional 2027 and 2028 flights. It will enable students and researchers across the country to work on scientific instruments for use on the surface of the Moon in the years ahead. This RFI also will solicit payloads incorporated on future missions to Mars including the Mars Telecom Network (MTN) and a nuclear technology demonstration mission.”

America Underway on Nuclear Power in Space

“In addition to these scientific missions, after decades of study and in response to the National Space Policy, NASA announced a major step forward in bringing nuclear power and propulsion from the lab to Space.

“NASA will launch the Space Reactor‑1 Freedom, the first nuclear powered interplanetary spacecraft, to Mars before the end of 2028, demonstrating advanced nuclear electric propulsion in deep space. Nuclear electric propulsion provides an extraordinary capability for efficient mass transport in deep space and enables high power missions beyond Jupiter where solar arrays are not effective.

“When SR-1 Freedom reaches Mars, it will deploy the Skyfall payload of Ingenuity‑class helicopters to continue exploring the Red Planet. SR-1 Freedom will establish flight heritage nuclear hardware, set regulatory and launch precedent, and activate the industrial base for future fission power systems across propulsion, surface, and long‑duration missions. NASA and its U.S. Department of Energy partner will unlock the capabilities required for sustained exploration beyond the Moon and eventual journeys to Mars and the outer solar system.

“None of these endeavors can succeed without the NASA workforce. As previously announced, the agency is rebuilding its core competencies, converting thousands of contractor positions to civil service, and restoring the engineering, technical, and operational strengths expected of the world’s premier space organization.

NASA is expanding opportunities for interns and early‑career professionals and, in partnership with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and NASA Force, is creating new pathways for experienced industry talent to serve through term‑based appointments. The agency also is seeking to open opportunities for NASA employees to gain valuable experience working within the most technologically advanced space industry in history.

“The changes announced on March 24 will be implemented during the coming months, with teams agencywide ensuring a smooth transition while advancing key programs and partnerships.

“NASA will embed subject‑matter experts across the supply chain – at every major vendor, subcontractor, and critical‑path component – to challenge assumptions, solve problems, accelerate production, and help ensure the right outcomes are achieved.”