The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has canceled plans to deploy a base built on Earth around the moon.
Instead, the US space agency has decided to recycle components and construct a $20 billion base on the lunar surface over the next seven years.
In a statement Tuesday, March 24, 2026, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman outlined the change in policy regarding its lunar program, Artemis.
He said, “It shouldn’t really surprise anyone that we’re pausing Gateway in its current form and focusing on infrastructure that supports sustained operations on the lunar surface.”
The space agency’s Lunar Gateway was a proposed International Space Station (ISS)-like facility that would float around the moon and serve as a primary base and transfer station for astronauts for further lunar exploration.
The facility is already partially built by contractors, Northrop Grumman and Vantor; however, NASA now plans to reuse the equipment for a lunar surface base.
The proposed changes come after China announced plans to start building a base on the moon in 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 manned mission to the moon in over 50 years has already faced several delays, and it remains to be seen whether NASA will be able to meet the revised timeline.
