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The White House vows America will never give up the moon again

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by Mark R. Whittington, opinion contributor - 04/05/26 10:00 AM ET

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by Mark R. Whittington, opinion contributor - 04/05/26 10:00 AM ET

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In this photo provided by NASA, an Artemis program patch floating in the International Space Station’s cupola, on March 30, 2026. (Jessica Meir/NASA via AP)

As the mission of Artemis II to circumnavigate the moon proceeds, NASA has laid out the long-term plans to establish a permanent base on the lunar surface. Indeed, the White House has thrown down the gauntlet by posting a message on the X social media network: “America will never give up the moon again.”

The bold statement means that the Trump administration intends to rectify the mistake the Nixon administration made over 50 years ago, which was to wind down the Apollo program, even going so far as to cancel the last three planned moon landings.

The Apollo program had achieved its goal as articulated by President John F. Kennedy, to send a man to the moon and return him safely to Earth by the end of the 1960s. But the program had built up an infrastructure that enabled five more successful moon missions and might have been expanded into a lunar base in the 1970s. Mars missions could have followed in the 1980s.

A hint of the brilliant age of space exploration that the U.S. abandoned is depicted in the alternate history TV series “For All Mankind” and in my own book, “Children of Apollo.”

But, as the saying goes, better late than never.

The announcement that NASA would begin work on a lunar base in the 21st century was met with near universal acclaim.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee that oversees NASA, stated on X, “Space is not just symbolic. It is strategic. A sustained lunar surface presence ensures America, not China, leads the next era of exploration.”

The Mars Society, not known for its enthusiasm for lunar exploration, posted, “The Mars Society backs NASA’s “Ignition” plan—calling it a long-overdue shift toward faster missions, sustained lunar ops and a clearer path to Mars.”

The Agenzia Spaziale ITA, the Italian Space Agency, stated, “ASI is proud to contribute to the future of lunar exploration alongside NASA. Back to the Moon, together. And beyond.”

Eric Berger, posting his story at Ars Technica on the announcement on X, exclaimed. “Holy sh–, we’re finally building a Moon base!”

While every human endeavor, no matter how grand, has its detractors, the width and depth of the support the lunar base has garnered is breathtaking. How to account for this?

The threat posed by China explains part of the support. China has replaced the Soviet Union and before that Nazi Germany as the main threat to world peace and freedom. The idea of the world sleeping at night under a Chinese communist moon is intolerable.

The quoted price and schedule have also made the lunar base very attractive. Twenty billion dollars over seven years looks pretty good next to the hundreds of billions proposed over decades that had accompanied deep space programs of the past. It is probably a down payment, but the idea of people living and doing useful work on the moon by 2033 or so is compelling.

One cannot count out the infectious enthusiasm of NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman for returning to the moon to stay. Isaacman also brings to the job the ability to think outside the box and, just as important, persuade others to do the same. He has a track record of creating billion-dollar companies and two private space flights he paid for out of his own pocket.

Of course, everything depends on execution. Can the coalition of companies and international partners that NASA has assembled get a moon base built within the time and cost quoted? How will the space agency deal with setbacks, should they occur?

The success of the Artemis II mission will provide some form of confidence that the rest of the program can happen as advertised. Four humans from the planet Earth are doing something no one has done for over 50 years and going farther into space than anyone has before.

The scientific and engineering knowledge Artemis II is winning is just part of what the circumnavigation around the moon will bring. Reid Wiseman (commander), Victor Glover (pilot), Christina Koch (mission specialist) and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist) are bringing a moment of beauty, hope and glory that this world, beset as it is with strife and mendacity, sorely needs.

Later, when the moon base has become a dream made reality, a way station on the way to Mars and a source of knowledge and commerce, that too will be beautiful and glorious.

Mark R.