NASA Shifts Focus from Lunar Gateway Space Station to Permanent Base Camp

Washington: In a major twist in the history of space exploration, NASA has paused work on its ambitious'Lunar Gateway'space station. The new head of the agency, Jared Isaacman, has announced that the US will now focus on building a permanent base camp on the lunar surface instead of orbiting the moon. The project, to be built at a cost of about $20 billion, is targeted to be completed within the next seven years. The main reason behind this decision is believed to be China's preparations to send humans to the moon by 2030. The US wants to maintain its dominance on the moon at any cost, and that is why it has decided to work directly on'ground zero '. This masterstroke of NASA is not limited to science, but it is also part of international space politics. The high-tech equipment previously designed for the Gateway Station will now be used directly to build on the lunar surface, although this sudden change in the European space agency (ESA) has made it clear that they will work together to create the first permanent human outpost.