Jared Isaacman, the newly confirmed NASA Administrator, says the United States will return to the moon within President Donald Trump’s second term. Isaacman made his first public comments since taking the job on Friday, telling “Closing Bell Overtime” that this mission is about more than exploration. He believes it is the key to building a real “orbital economy.”
Isaacman wants to tap into the moon’s national security and economic potential. His vision involves building data centers in space and mining the lunar surface for Helium-3. This rare gas could eventually become a crucial fuel source for fusion power. Once NASA establishes a functioning moon base, the agency plans to invest heavily in space nuclear power and propulsion systems to reach deeper destinations.
The Senate confirmed Isaacman last week, ending a chaotic year for the agency’s leadership. President Trump first picked Isaacman in December 2024 but abruptly withdrew the nomination in May. At the time, the White House cited “prior associations” as the reason. Most insiders believe this referred to Isaacman’s close friendship with Elon Musk, especially since Trump and the SpaceX CEO had a heated public feud over the summer. After tensions cooled, Trump renominated Isaacman—who previously commanded a private SpaceX mission—in November.
Now, the focus is on speed. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed earlier this year, giving NASA a $9.9 billion injection to jumpstart the Artemis campaign. The agency is working closely with contractors like Boeing, Blue Origin, and SpaceX. Isaacman noted that Artemis II, the first crewed test flight, will launch soon.
Following that test, Artemis III will aim for the lunar surface using a landing system built by SpaceX. Both SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin are currently refining their heavy-lift rockets to make them fully reusable. Isaacman says this technology is the only way to make moon travel affordable and frequent, which creates the stepping stones needed for future missions to Mars.
