U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order setting a renewed goal of sending American astronauts back to the Moon by 2028, while laying the groundwork for establishing a permanent lunar base by 2030. The directive reaffirms the central role of NASA’s Artemis program and frames deep space exploration as a strategic and national security priority for the United States.
The announcement came shortly after private astronaut Jared Isaacman was sworn in as the new administrator of NASA. The order also instructs federal agencies—including the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence community—to develop a coordinated space security strategy, while imposing new limits on the oversight authority of the National Space Council.
Trump had previously championed an accelerated return to the lunar surface during his first term, though earlier timelines proved unrealistic. NASA continues to work closely with SpaceX on rockets and lunar landers, as private-sector involvement remains essential to the administration’s ambitions in space exploration.