Desk: The United States has taken a major step to maintain its dominance in space. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, NASA has announced plans to build a permanent base on the lunar surface. This mission will cost approximately $20 billion. This decision has been taken as part of a strategy to surpass China in the space race.
NASA has changed its previous plan, deciding to build a base directly on the lunar surface instead of building a station in orbit. This mission will deploy robotic landers and drones. Nuclear power will also be used on the Moon in the coming years.
“This is the same way America achieved the impossible with the Apollo program in the 1960s. Now we will do it again. By the end of President Trump’s term, we will return to the Moon, establish a base there, and ensure American leadership,” said NASA chief Jared Isaacman.
The US decision comes amid growing competition from China, which announced last October that it would land astronauts on the Moon by 2030. Zhang Jingbo, a spokesman for China’s human spaceflight program, said preparations are progressing rapidly and the goal of landing humans on the Moon by 2030 remains firm.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos will also play key roles in this mission. Both companies are developing lunar landers for NASA. However, the goal of a manned landing by 2028 is currently behind schedule. Furthermore, NASA has announced plans to send a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars. During its first term, the Trump administration established the Space Force, America’s first new military branch in seven decades. The plan to build a lunar base is now considered the next major step in this direction.
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