{"id":200931,"date":"2025-12-19T23:04:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T23:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/200931\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T23:04:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T23:04:07","slug":"nasas-new-leader-jared-isaacman-makes-his-priorities-clear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/200931\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA’s new leader, Jared Isaacman, makes his priorities clear"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA\u2019s new leader, billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman<\/a>, is making his priorities for the space agency clear in his first days on the job. <\/p>\n

Isaacman was sworn in Thursday as the 15th administrator of NASA. The same day, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing NASA <\/a>to return astronauts to the moon by 2028, begin the development of a permanent outpost on the lunar surface by 2030, and lay the foundations for future exploration of Mars.<\/p>\n

The order will likely provide a roadmap for Isaacman and NASA.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin the next three years, we are going to land American astronauts again on the moon, but this time with the infrastructure to stay,\u201d Isaacman told NBC News in an interview after his swearing in on Thursday.<\/p>\n

He has stepped into the role at a key time for NASA: The Trump administration has made it an urgent objective to return astronauts to the moon<\/a> before China\u2019s astronauts reach the lunar surface.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are faced with another space race,\u201d Isaacman said.<\/p>\n

The next phase of NASA\u2019s return-to-the-moon program<\/a>, known as Artemis, could launch as early as February. The mission, Artemis II, will send four astronauts on a roughly 10-day flight around the moon to test the agency\u2019s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.<\/p>\n

The Artemis III flight that will follow is expected to land astronauts near the moon\u2019s south pole.<\/p>\n

\"U.SU.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, left, swears in Jared Isaacman, right, as the 15th administrator of NASA, as Isaacman’s parents, Donald and Sandra Marie, join him Thursday in Washington, D.C.Bill Ingalls \/ NASA via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Under Isaacman, NASA is expected to continue its push toward more commercialization. Companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are set to play a critical role in the space agency’s efforts to return to the moon, and Isaacman said other private space firms will support the agency\u2019s lunar ambitions, as well.<\/p>\n

Trump’s executive order on space policy calls for developing a \u201cvibrant commercial space economy through the power of American free enterprise,\u201d and outlines a plan to wind down the International Space Station by 2030 and launch commercial space stations in its place.<\/p>\n

The order also focuses on nuclear power in space<\/a>. Building on a directive from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who served as acting administrator of NASA before Isaacman was confirmed, it sets a goal to develop a nuclear reactor that is ready to launch to the moon by 2030. <\/p>\n

Isaacman said nuclear power in space will be key to exploration beyond the moon, including future missions to Mars.<\/p>\n

One of the challenges he faces as administrator, however, will be executing the White House\u2019s vision with a limited budget.<\/p>\n

Current funding across the U.S. government extends through Jan. 30. After that, NASA faces the possibility of significant budget cuts, particularly to its science operations.<\/p>\n

Despite that looming obstacle, Isaacman expressed optimism about the agency\u2019s ability to juggle the administration\u2019s priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s $25 billion or $20 billion, that\u2019s an awful lot of money coming into the agency every single year,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got the best and brightest that are capable of taking on numerous challenging endeavors \u2014 the near impossible \u2014 simultaneously.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the president\u2019s space policy, it\u2019s the opportunity to go back to the moon, establish the infrastructure there, and then make investments in the future technology like nuclear to set up for Mars missions,\u201d Isaacman said. \u201cI think with the resources that are provided, the commitment from the president here in the White House with that space policy, we\u2019re going to be able to get the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s new leader, billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, is making his priorities for the space agency clear in his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[61,60,82,247],"class_list":{"0":"post-200931","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-space"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}