The head of NASA announced the sending of astronauts from the United States on a long journey to the moon.

In 2026, American astronauts will embark on the longest space journey in the United States — they will once again set course for the Moon, where they plan to stay. This was announced on Friday, January 2, by the head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, an independent agency of the US federal government (NASA), Jared Isaakman.

"This year, American astronauts will make the longest space trip in history and return to space around the Moon. <...> This time we are staying," he wrote on his page on the social network X (ex. Twitter).

This event, he said, will take place in the year when the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding.

Lunar footprint: NASA has begun serial launches of vehicles to the Earth's satellite

What are the prospects for commercial exploration of the celestial body and should Russia get involved in this race?

Last Sunday, December 28, 2025, Isaakman announced his country's intention to build its own base on the moon. Hero of Russia, cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, on November 30 of the same year, commenting on the plans of his American colleagues to establish a village on the Earth's natural satellite by 2035, called this idea unrealistic.

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