Recently appointed NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman on Friday told CNBC that the U.S. will return to the moon within President Donald Trump’s second term.
Isaacman, a close ally of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime” that Trump’s recommitment to exploring the moon is key to unlocking the “orbital economy.”
“We want to have that opportunity to explore and realize the scientific, economic and national security potential on the moon,” he said.
Isaacman’s comments on Friday were some of his first public remarks since being confirmed to his position by the Senate last week, after a long saga throughout 2025.
Trump initially nominated Isaacman for the NASA head role in December 2024, but the president abruptly pulled his pick in May due to Isaacman’s “prior associations.” Although Trump did not specify what those were, some have suggested that it was related to Isaacman’s close ties with Musk, with whom Trump had a heated feud over the summer.
In November, Trump renominated Isaacman, who was an entrepreneur and became a civilian astronaut after commanding an orbital mission aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2021.
Lunar opportunities include establishing space data centers and infrastructure, as well as potentially mining Helium-3, a rare gas embedded in the moon’s surface that could become a major fuel for fusion power, Isaacman said.
He added that after building a “moon base,” NASA will look into making investments in nuclear power and space nuclear propulsion to further exploration.
NASA is currently working with various contractors including SpaceX, Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin and Boeing, to participate in its Artemis campaign, a moon exploration program that also aims to prepare for Mars missions.
The campaign was propelled after Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act allocated $9.9 billion to NASA earlier this year.
The Artemis II mission, NASA’s first test flight with crew aboard the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft, is expected to take off in the near future, Isaacman said.
The expedition will be followed up with the Artemis III mission, which SpaceX is contracted to build the lunar landing system for.
SpaceX and Blue Origin are refining heavy lift launch vehicles with on-orbit cryogenic propeller transfer to become more readily reusable, he added.
“That’s what’s going to enable us to be able to go to and from the moon affordably, with great frequency, and set up for missions to Mars and beyond,” Isaacman said.
