NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said this Sunday, as Artemis II astronauts prepare to circle the Moon on Monday, that the agency's leadership, which he took over last December, will no longer tolerate delays or cost overruns in plans to achieve a permanent U.S. presence on that satellite. "We have been doing many things differently in recent months," Isaacman said, who was nominated by President Donald Trump when asked by CBS about delays in contracts with Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. "President Donald Trump gave me a national space policy that drives the return of the United States to the Moon frequently, to establish a permanent presence, build a lunar base, and develop initiatives such as energy and nuclear propulsion," he stated, without offering details. "We will no longer be passive or allow delays or cost overruns, especially considering what is at stake in the return of the United States to the Moon," he added to the channel. Isaacman indicated that the agency has $10 billion in additional resources from the Tax Cuts for Working Families Act, which is part of the "great and beautiful" bill pushed by Trump and approved in 2025. "We are now acting directly: we are integrating NASA experts throughout the entire supply chain — prime contractors, subcontractors, and key components — from the rocket to the lunar modules and space suits. We are driving results." Regarding how a government budget cut of more than 20% for 2027 would affect the agency, he said he supports that proposal. "With current resources and additional funding, we are accelerating production to reach the Moon, add the Artemis III mission in 2027, build a lunar base, and advance other projects, such as launching in 2028 the first interplanetary spacecraft with nuclear propulsion that will travel beyond Mars with multiple scientific missions," he explained. "I believe the American public should judge NASA by its results, not by the speed at which it spends its budget," he emphasized. The NASA administrator also highlighted the importance of the data that astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen are collecting since Wednesday's launch for future Artemis missions. "All of this will serve to inform later missions such as Artemis III and, above all, Artemis IV, which is when we will really put astronauts back on the lunar surface," he indicated.
