NASA’s Moon-base plans mark a rethinking of its future

Mar 25th 2026|6 min read

“THE UNITED STATES will never again give up the Moon.” This line in a memo that NASA staff received from their boss, Jared Isaacman, on March 24th, sought to recast the stakes in America’s race with China to put the next humans on the Moon. Since taking over NASA in December Mr Isaacman has added new realism to the timetable for Artemis, the late-running, over-budget and needlessly complex Moon programme. Nevertheless, the chances that its current target of boots on the lunar terrain by 2028 might slip again, and that China’s more streamlined programme might deliver people there first, are real. Some rate them as high.