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from https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/nasas-lunar-gateway-space-station-is-out-moon-bases-are-in

NASA's lunar Gateway space station is out. Moon bases are in
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By Josh Dinner published 20 hours ago
NASA's shifting focus "does not preclude revisiting the orbital outpost
in the future."

a grey space station closeup
Render of NASA's Gateway space station. (Image credit: NASA)

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NASA is officially sidelining the long-planned lunar Gateway space
station to focus its efforts on establishing a base on the surface of
the moon.

The change comes as the agency continues to lay out its accelerated plan
for returning astronauts to the moon and building a sustained human
presence there as a part of the Artemis program. During an event
announcing updates to its planned campaign of moon exploration on
Tuesday (March 24), NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman framed the pivot
as part of a broader push to hone the agency's workforce, simplify
program architecture, increase launch cadence and compete with China's
lunar ambitions.

"We find ourselves with a real geopolitical rival, challenging American leadership in the high ground of space," Isaacman said. NASA has
committed to landing astronauts back on the moon, "before the end of
President Trump's term," Isaacman stated, and said the next step toward building a moon base is a pivot away from a space station in lunar
orbit. "It should not really surprise anyone that we are pausing Gateway
in its current form and focusing on infrastructure that supports
sustained operations on the lunar surface."

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Instead, NASA will concentrate on expanding its Artemis program surface architecture through crewed and uncrewed landers, rovers and habitats.
In that light, existing Gateway hardware and international partner contributions will be repurposed wherever possible for surface systems
or other program needs.

The announcement was made one week before NASA's targeted launch of
Artemis 2, scheduled for April 1. It's the first crewed mission of the program, and will fly three NASA and one Canadian Space Agency astronaut
on a 10-day flight around the moon. The mission is designed as a
stepping stone toward a lunar landing and eventual permanent base.

NASA is targeting 2027 for Artemis 3 to test integrated operations of
Orion and one or both of the program's current lunar landers in Earth
orbit, and 2028 for the program's first lunar landing attempt on Artemis
4 rCo no longer including a Gateway rendezvous.

One of the reasons NASA is officially excluding Gateway from its plans
is to the ease of its integration with lunar landers' ability to travel
from the space station, down to the surface and back. Gateway was meant
to be launched into what NASA calls a near rectilinear halo orbit around
the moon, with an apogee far above the lunar surface that demanded tight
fuel constraints for landers needed to traverse the distance.

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