'Ignition': A new series of NASA initiatives

On Tuesday, March 24, NASA announced a series of changes to its Moon and Mars plans. Here are the key components of the announcement.

Lunar exploration moves from orbit to the surface

Building on recent updates to the Artemis program, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that the Gateway lunar station would be paused indefinitely in order to focus resources on establishing a lunar base. Additionally, NASA wants to see more frequent crewed missions after Artemis IV and V, with support from commercially procured, reusable hardware at a cadence of one every six months.

Other NASA officials outlined more details on the plan for the lunar base concept. NASA would approach it in phases, leveraging international partner commitments already in place for Gateway and dramatically increasing the frequency and capability of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to deliver material to the location, which remains targeted for the lunar south pole with up to 30 robotic landings starting in 2027. Payloads could include rovers, hoppers, and drones from industry, academia, and international partners. NASA said it plans to provide science opportunities for the CLPS landers and announced a new lander by Intuitive Machines that will deliver seven payloads to the lunar south pole.

According to documents on NASA's website, the agency expects to spend approximately $20 billion on the lunar base over the next seven years and $6 billion on expanded CLPS operations over the coming decade. Administrator Isaacman stated that NASA "doesn't have a top-line problem; this is just where we choose to concentrate our resources." This suggests that NASA may propose to shift funding away from existing activities and reallocate it toward these new initiatives, an activity that would require approval by Congress.

Commercial space stations are not ready

NASA also outlined a new strategy for utilizing commercial companies to build a follow-on to the International Space Station (ISS). Dana Weigel, program manager of the ISS, stated that there are no compelling products made in orbit, there isn't substantial tourism demand, and that no other governments wanted to pay for long-duration orbital access on a U.S. station. 

As an alternative, NASA proposes to extend the life of the ISS, likely through the mid-2030s, developing a new, government‑owned module to attach to the ISS, followed by additional commercial modules. This combined system could later detach from the ISS at the end of its life and persist as a separate, smaller space station.

Nuclear electric propulsion

Plans for long-term Mars exploration include building out a Mars Telecom Network to support future operations and carry science payloads. NASA also announced a new mission, called the Space Reactor‑1 Freedom. Aiming to launch before the end of 2028, this mission would be the first to use advanced nuclear electric propulsion to reach Mars, where it would deploy a payload of Ingenuity‑class helicopters. These flying spacecraft would scout future landing sites and search for subsurface water ice.

Science opportunities

NASA Associate Administrator for Science Nicola Fox delivered a number of brief mission updates, highlighting the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is ahead of schedule and under budget; Dragonfly, which will launch to Titan in 2028; and ESA's Rosalind Franklin rover, which will be launched and landed by NASA. She also mentioned DAVINCI to Venus and the asteroid-hunting space telescope, NEO Surveyor, which is progressing toward a 2027 launch.

She highlighted the goal of reducing the "time to science" and announced opportunities to rapidly acquire science investigations for the slate of upcoming CLPS missions, particularly those that are destination-agnostic — i.e., can return useful data regardless of which mission they are manifested on.

Fox also said that Administrator Isaacman asked her to identify mission concepts that could be suited for philanthropic or private partnerships. Suggestions included a planetary defense follow-on, an interstellar probe, and a Uranus orbiter.

"The changes announced on March 24 will be implemented during the coming months," according to NASA.