If you're looking, here's a "good deal" for NASA and the European Space Agency

If you're looking, here's a "good deal" for NASA and the European Space AgencyArs Technica

Oct 07, 2026 11:00

Artists illustration of one of the three spacecraft that will make up the LISA mission. — Artist's illustration of one of the three spacecraft that will make up the LISA mission.

It's no surprise that NASA's new tack toward foreign partnerships—good deals only, please—is challenging preconceived notions of international cooperation in space.

Without a massive budget hike, the US space agency's emphasis on building a Moon Base and winning a competition for lunar real estate and resources with China will inevitably leave lesser priorities behind.

Gone is the Lunar Gateway, a space station that was to be assembled in orbit around the Moon. For the United States, Gateway was an unnecessary distraction and expense as NASA goes all-in on placing a surface station near the Moon's south pole.

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