US Prepares Rp 337 Trillion Project, Fears Losing to China

NASA is changing the direction of its space exploration efforts. The United States space agency has cancelled the lunar orbit space station project and redirected it towards building a permanent base on the Moon’s surface, valued at US$20 billion or approximately Rp 337 trillion.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman described this move as a new strategy to accelerate US dominance on the Moon while overtaking China’s ambitions, which target an astronaut landing by 2030.

“The revised phased approach is precisely how NASA achieved the nearly impossible in the 1960s,” he stated, quoted from Reuters on Wednesday (25/3/2026).

In addition, NASA is preparing other steps, including sending a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars before 2028 via the Space Reactor 1 Freedom mission.

This marks a major technological leap, from mere laboratory experiments to real-world implementation of nuclear power in space.

However, NASA’s decision has consequences. The Lunar Gateway project, which was being developed with international partners, is now effectively halted. As a result, the roles of countries such as Japan, Canada, and the European Space Agency have become unclear.

“Although there are real challenges regarding hardware and schedules, we can redirect the use of equipment and international partner commitments to support surface operations and other programme objectives,” Isaacman said.

ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher stated that they would study the new plan and continue discussions with NASA.

The Lunar Gateway was originally designed as a research platform and transit station for astronauts before descending to the Moon’s surface. The current plan targets an astronaut landing in 2028.

Changes made by Isaacman in recent weeks are altering contracts worth billions of dollars in the Artemis programme, forcing companies to adapt to the US acceleration amid China’s progress towards its 2030 Moon landing target.