The competition to return humans to the Moon is no longer being spoken about as a distant ambition. According to Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman, it has become a direct contest between the United States and China, with both countries working towards lunar landings within a remarkably similar timeframe. Although official schedules suggest the US is targeting a return in 2028 while China has set its sights on landing astronauts before 2030, Isaacman believes the practical difference between those goals is much smaller than it appears. His remarks reflect a growing sense inside the US space agency that the coming few years will shape the future of human exploration beyond Earth. Rather than treating the next Moon landing as a symbolic achievement, Nasa is framing it as the beginning of a much longer effort to establish a lasting presence on the lunar surface before turning its attention towards missions to Mars.
Nasa says the US is in a new space race with China
Speaking during an interview on CBS’ Face the Nation, Isaacman said the United States is “very much in a space race right now” with China. He argued that the timeline separating the two programmes is narrow enough that every major milestone matters.China has steadily expanded its space capabilities over the past two decades and has already completed a series of successful robotic lunar missions. Isaacman suggested there is little doubt that Chinese astronauts will eventually reach the Moon. The real question, in his view, is whether Nasa can arrive first while laying the foundations for something more permanent instead of carrying out a single demonstration mission.He also distinguished between the current competition and the Cold War race against the Soviet Union. This time, he said, the rival programme has the technical capacity to achieve its objectives, making the contest significantly different from the one that defined the 1960s.
Artemis III set to pave the way for a 2028 landing
Nasa has already taken one important step with the Artemis II mission, which sent a crew of four astronauts around the Moon earlier this year without attempting a landing. That mission was intended to test spacecraft systems and prepare crews for more demanding operations closer to the lunar surface.Attention is now shifting towards Artemis III, scheduled for next year. Rather than focusing solely on putting astronauts on the Moon, the mission is expected to verify several technologies needed for future landings. Isaacman described it as an opportunity to test key elements together in Earth orbit before committing crews to more ambitious expeditions.The agency believes those demonstrations will provide the confidence needed for Artemis IV, the mission currently expected to return astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028.
How Nasa is assembling the future lunar outpost step by step
Nasa’s plans extend well beyond planting a flag. Isaacman outlined an approach centred on regular missions that gradually assemble the equipment needed for a functioning lunar outpost.The agency expects launch activity to increase sharply during 2027, with missions taking place at a pace that would allow cargo and hardware to reach the Moon before astronauts arrive. That work is intended to support the first stages of a permanent operating base rather than leaving each expedition to start from scratch.By the time astronauts land in 2028, Isaacman said they should find more than an empty landscape waiting for them. Early infrastructure, including a lunar terrain vehicle designed to help crews travel across the surface, is expected to be in place. Additional equipment would follow through 2029 as Nasa gradually expands its operations.
Preparing for missions beyond the Moon
The Moon remains the immediate destination, but Nasa continues to describe it as part of a wider strategy rather than the final objective. Experience gained from living and working on the lunar surface is expected to inform future expeditions to Mars, where astronauts would face much longer journeys and greater operational challenges.Isaacman suggested that by the early years of the next decade, the Moon could begin to resemble the role played by the International Space Station. Instead of occasional visits, crews could spend extended periods there while testing technologies, carrying out scientific work and refining methods for deep-space exploration.
