Crew 13 and lunar plans Isaacman gives NASA outlook

Oct 1

Jared Isaacman says Crew 13 launched with four astronauts to relieve Crew 12 on a six-to-seven-month ISS expedition, researching pharmaceuticals, agriculture and technologies useful on Earth and in later exploration. Baier airs commander Jessica Watkins thanking the teams and names Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk and a Russian crewmember. Isaacman separately previews a Falcon Heavy launch later that evening with an unspecified national-security payload. He says the first moon-base mission is planned for December 2026, near-monthly uncrewed rover and lander missions in early 2027, Artemis 3 in 2027 and an Artemis 4 lunar-surface return in 2028. He emphasizes competition for lunar south-pole sites and resources and cites Chinese-Russian ambitions. The future schedule is his plan, not completed launches or landings.

Isaacman tells Fox the first moon-base mission is planned for December 2026, followed by near-monthly uncrewed rovers and landers in early 2027. He puts Artemis 3 in 2027 and an Artemis 4 lunar-surface return in 2028. He describes competition with China and Russia for south-pole landing sites, water ice and solar access. These are announced plans and rationale, not completed missions or guaranteed outcomes.