NASA Chief Isaac Bowman Says There Are Sufficient Funds to Build New Lunar Base

LootboxPhobia · 2026-03-24T17:25:52+00:00

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated that NASA has sufficient funding to build a new lunar base, with an estimated cost of $20 billion, requiring $30 billion over the next decade. He mentioned that some funding will come from the terminated Gateway program, and Congress has approved a budget of nearly $25 billion for 2026 to support the project's advancement.

LootboxPhobia

2026-03-24 17:25:52

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Investing.com - NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Tuesday that the agency has sufficient funding to build a new lunar base, a project that will require $20 billion over seven years and $30 billion over the next decade.

“We have the resources to get this done,” Isaacman told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday. “NASA has a lot of resources. We just need to direct those resources toward what will drive progress.”

Isaacman said that part of the funding for the lunar base will come from the now-terminated Gateway program, a space station project NASA previously developed in orbit around the Moon. Earlier Tuesday, Isaacman announced plans to repurpose components built for the Gateway for use on the lunar surface.

“We’ve gained a lot of resources from the Gateway program,” Isaacman said. “We’re reusing them on the lunar surface, which is exactly where we all want to go. So NASA doesn’t have a total budget problem. I need to emphasize that.”

The administrator said he has met with key lawmakers about the lunar base plan and noted that NASA is maintaining an “unexpected policy” in developing the project.

“We’ve met with the House Appropriations Committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee, and White House leaders,” Isaacman said. “Everyone is fully aligned on how we will achieve this goal.”

Congress approved nearly $25 billion for NASA’s 2026 budget, exceeding the Trump administration’s request of $18.8 billion and proposing to cut NASA’s science funding by half. Most of the science funding was restored in the recent NASA appropriations bill. A tax law passed in July provided an additional $10 billion for space projects, with funds available through 2032.

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