NASA’s Isaacman: ‘Big Rockets’ to the Moon Every Year, and a Race With China

In an exclusive interview with Space.com, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says the agency is on a “more achievable path to the lunar surface” after April’s Artemis II flight around the moon.

Highlights

• His priority is launching SLS “no less than once a year” to keep deep-space muscles in shape.
• Artemis III flies in 2027 as a crewed mission in low Earth orbit, testing Orion docking with one or both private landers, SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon.
• Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman is becoming deputy director of JPL.
• He takes the new space race with China very seriously: “I think we will prevail.”

My take

A steady launch cadence beats one-off spectacle. I’m excited to watch the landers come together.

God Bless, and May the Source Be with You!

References & Further Reading

• NASA chief Jared Isaacman on Artemis, China and the new moon race (Space.com)