Trump’s Moon program survived a transfer of power, so what’s next?

President Biden has been silent on his plans for NASA but excited about the agency’s recent successes — here, he virtually congratulates the team that landed NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars last month.

The Trump administration’s Moon-to-Mars program has already dodged the fate of many past presidential space programs: cancellation under new leadership. Last month, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced the Biden administration’s support for Artemis, NASA’s flagship lunar agenda.

It was a rare passing of the baton between two administrations at odds with one another in virtually every other area. And it quelled some industry fears that Biden would shelve the moonshot plan entirely. While still in its infancy, the Artemis program unleashed a wave of industry momentum, partially thanks to an energizing, yet wildly unrealistic target date of 2024 for planting boots on the Moon.

To get a sense of what’s next for Artemis and NASA,...

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