NASA's new Administrator, Jared Isaacman, announced on Tuesday that the agency will cancel its plan to deploy a space station in lunar orbit. Instead, components originally intended for the orbital station will be used to construct a $20 billion base on the lunar surface within the next seven years.

Isaacman, who took office last December, made the announcement during the opening of a one-day event at NASA's Washington headquarters. He also outlined a series of reforms to NASA's flagship lunar program, Artemis.

Addressing attendees, Isaacman stated, "We will pause the Gateway in its current form. It should come as no surprise that we are shifting our focus to infrastructure supporting sustained operations on the lunar surface."

The Lunar Gateway station was primarily built by contractors Northrop Grumman and Vantor (formerly Maxar). It was designed to be a space station docked in lunar orbit. Repurposing these components for a surface base presents significant challenges.

Isaacman added, "Despite some practical challenges with hardware and schedule, we can repurpose the equipment and the commitment of our international partners to support lunar surface and other program objectives."

The Lunar Gateway was intended to serve as both a research platform and a transit point, where astronauts would transfer to a lunar lander before descending to the surface.

In recent weeks, the changes implemented by Isaacman to the US flagship lunar program are reshaping the multi-billion dollar contracts under the Artemis program.