WashingtonNASA will only pursue “good deals” with partners, Isaacman said.
Middle powers now compete for scarce lunar south pole real estate and water ice.
NASA canceled Gateway in March and now trades Moon seats for hardware, like Italy’s $5 billion habitation module.
“They are going to put a nuclear reactor there,” Isaacman said of China and Russia.
Canada is still weighing its own contribution, complicated by an ongoing US trade dispute.
How each outlet framed it
- Ars Technica
- reframes Moon race from national prestige to resource competition for water-ice craters, arguing south-pole advantage matters for permanent settlement and Mars springboard
Sources: Ars Technica