NASA plans permanent human presence on Moon

US space agency NASA is continuing to transform its lunar programme and is planning a permanent human presence, Administrator Jared Isaacman said in Washington on Tuesday.

"The clock is running in this great-power competition, and success or failure will be measured in months, not years," Isaacman said.

The agency is to invest around $20 billion over the coming seven years and build the lunar base with dozens of missions, he said.

NASA announced a phased approach to building the base, pausing the Gateway space station orbiting the moon in its current form and shifting focus to infrastructure that enables sustained surface operations.

Gateway had been planned along with the European Space Agency (ESA) and was intended as an intervening station for human missions to the moon and for missions to Mars.

NASA also said it would launch the Space Reactor-1 Freedom, the first nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft, to Mars before the end of 2028, demonstrating advanced nuclear electric propulsion in deep space.

"Nuclear electric propulsion provides an extraordinary capability for efficient mass transport in deep space and enables high power missions beyond Jupiter where solar arrays are not effective," NASA said.

"NASA is committed to achieving the near-impossible once again, to return to the Moon before the end of President Trump's term, build a Moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space," Isaacman said.