LAKELAND, Fla. — Just days after the success of the Artemis II mission, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman made a special stop at Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo, drawing a large crowd eager to hear what comes next.
Isaacman, who has performed at the airshow in the past, returned this time in a different role, as the head of NASA, to outline an ambitious roadmap for the agency’s future.
“I’ll tell you, the mission was a great success,” Isaacman said of Artemis II. “There are things we’re going to make better about the hardware, things we’re going to make better about the software.”
Artemis II sent four astronauts around the Moon and back to Earth, marking a major milestone as NASA prepares for its next steps.
Isaacman told the crowd that Artemis III, targeted for 2027, will launch into low-Earth orbit, where astronauts will rendezvous and dock with commercial lunar landers. That mission will help test critical systems before Artemis IV, planned for 2028, when astronauts are expected to return to the lunar surface for the first time in decades.
“We are absolutely going back to stay,” Isaacman said. “We’re going to build a Moon base.”
The long-term goal, he added, is to prepare for future missions to Mars.
“We are very close at that point in time to being able to send astronauts to Mars,” he said.
The message resonated with many in the crowd, especially young people inspired by the recent launch.
Stephen Maile traveled from Tampa with his son, Emerson. Weeks ago, they traveled to the Space Coast to witness the Artemis II launch in person.
“It’s exhilarating,” Stephen said. “If you’ve never seen a launch, especially that historic magnitude.”
Now, just days later, they were front row at Sun ‘n Fun, to hear what comes next.
“My son’s in eighth grade, right?” Stephen said. “What does he have to look forward to … as he goes through high school and college and sets himself up in ten years potentially to work in aerospace or space or NASA.”
For Emerson, the goal is already taking shape.
“I’d like to be an aerospace engineer, possibly working in NASA in the next couple of years maybe,” he said.
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