Billionaire astronaut-entrepreneur Jared Isaacman walked back into the US Senate this week with a simple promise: the United States will return to the Moon before China – and it will get there on nuclear power.
In written testimony for his second confirmation hearing as NASA administrator, Isaacman pledged to “expand and accelerate investments into nuclear propulsion and surface power” and turn the Moon into a launch pad for missions to Mars and beyond. He described China as “our great rival” and warned that losing the lunar race could shift the balance of power back on Earth.
It is an audacious vision.
