After losing a year to havoc and job-slashing at Nasa, the pressure is on billionaire administrator Jared Isaacman
W
ith astronauts set to fly around the moon for the first time in more than half a century when Artemis 2 makes its long-awaited ascent sometime this spring, 2026 was already destined to become a standout year in space.
It is also likely to be one of the most pivotal, with new leadership at Nasa in billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman, and the tycoon-led private space industry assuming more than a mere supporting role to help win for the US its race with China back to the lunar surface.
Combined with Donald Trump’s pre-holiday directive for “American space superiority”, which includes planting the stars and stripes on the moon before the end of his second term, it marks the beginning of potentially the most consequential period in human spaceflight in more than a generation.
