President Donald Trump has once again nominated Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, after canceling his first nomination earlier this year. The tech billionaire and commander of the Polaris space program has led two missions to orbit with SpaceX, and more are planned.
If he becomes NASA administrator, he will lead the agency’s return trip to the moon with the artemis programwhich will take the first crew to lunar orbit in spring 2026.
Trump nominated Isaacman in December 2024, but later discovered that he had previously donated to Democrats. Also crumbling at the time was the president’s relationship with Elon Musk, someone Isaacman has a close relationship with. Elon owns SpaceX and has worked closely with NASA for many years. SpaceX’s development was largely driven by NASA contracts, to encourage commercial crew and cargo services that can fly cheaper and more frequently.
in a publish on Truth Social This week, Trump said that “Jared’s passion for space, his experience as an astronaut, and his dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new space economy make him the ideal candidate to lead NASA into a bold new era.”
Isaacman accepted his new appointment to lead the space agency and issued a formal statement thanking the president and looking to the future.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity. It will be an honor to serve my country under your leadership. The support from the space-loving community has been overwhelming. I’m not sure how I earned the trust of so many people, but I will do everything I can to live up to those expectations.”
Return to the Moon before the end of Trump’s presidency?
China aims to land its astronauts on the moon by 2030. NASA wants to land the first Artemis crew on the moon in 2027, but that’s highly unlikely since SpaceX’s Starship, the lander NASA has contracted for the first landing on Artemis III, isn’t even close to being ready. It also needs to fly many operational missions safely before NASA feels confident, and that takes time.
NASA wants to let Blue Origin compete with its lander for the first Artemis landings. Blue Origin intends to launch an unmanned lander to the Moon in the coming months to prove they can do it, and NASA wants to say whoever is ready first will win.
The president wants the first landing to occur before the end of his term, but his proposed budget for NASA would cut about 24%, more than $6 billion. The consequences of cuts to the federal workforce do not help.
If confirmed, Isaacman would undoubtedly run NASA more like a company, relying on hiring private industry for the heavy lifting. NASA’s SLS and Orion rocket would be canceled, and he wants NASA to buy scientific data from commercial companies, not build, launch and operate its own satellites.
“I want to reorganize and revitalize NASA, focus on American leadership in space, unlock the orbital economy, and accelerate world-changing discoveries,” Isaacman says.
