Watch live: Plans for NASA moon base announced

Next phase: the moon. 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is gearing up for some new scientific and discovery advances in the next 10 years. A main objective – led by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman – includes a moon base.

NASA missions, scientific advancements launching in the next few years

In an X post, Isaacman listed several missions and scientific advancement projects on the horizon for NASA: 

• 2026: The launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
• 2028: Nuclear-powered Dragonfly mission will explore Saturn’s moon, Titan. The mission will focus on finding signs of life and will include mission to Venus in the future, Isaacman said. 
• TBD: Travel to Mars. This includes several scientific payloads to Mars, including Rosaland Franklin Rover, MTN and SR-1 Freedom delivering Skyfall. 

Lunar base announced

In a March 23 announcement, NASA provided plans to build the NASA Moon Base. 

• TBD: NASA's lunar base will incorporate MoonFall hopper drones and all the science payloads the landers and rovers can integrate, Isaacman said. 

Decommissioning the International Space Station

A decommission of the ISS is set for 2032. Before the station is decommissioned, NASA released a list of objectives, including: 

• Increase support for commercial crew PAM and cargo missions to the ISS
• Maximize research missions in low Earth orbit with commercial potential
• Help industry mature technical and operational capabilities
• A future where NASA becomes one of many customers for commercial stations