NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman answers questions at a U.S. congressional confirmation hearing on the 3rd. UPI Yonhap News

Jared Isaacman, the new Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), expressed confidence that U.S. astronauts will land on the Moon again within President Donald Trump's current term.

According to U.S. business channel CNBC on the 27th (local time), Isaacman emphasized in an interview the previous evening that President Trump's plan to return to the Moon is central to realizing an "orbital economy."

He stated that the United States "wants the opportunity to explore and realize the scientific, economic, and national security potential on the Moon."

Prior to taking office for his second term, President Trump nominated Isaacman as NASA Administrator candidate in December of last year, then abruptly withdrew the nomination in May of this year, and again nominated Isaacman as NASA Administrator candidate in early last month.

President Trump did not provide specific reasons at the time of his initial withdrawal, but some speculated it might be related to Isaacman's close ties with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.

President Trump had a significant conflict with Musk in June, but their relationship has gradually been restored.

The Trump administration's space policy, influenced by the relationship between the President and Musk, at one point seemed to prioritize Mars exploration, but recently, spurred by China's aggressive pursuit of lunar exploration, there is a renewed focus on Moon-related projects.

Before Isaacman's inauguration, NASA had scheduled the launch of "Artemis II," a lunar orbit flight plan for astronauts, for sometime after February 2026.

Artemis II is a crewed mission that will carry four NASA astronauts on a flight around the Moon and back, intended to verify that all spacecraft systems function as designed before Artemis III, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar South Pole.

In his interview the previous day, Isaacman stated that the launch for the Artemis II mission would occur "in the near future."

He also mentioned the possibility of mining Helium-3, a rare gas that could be a primary fuel for fusion energy, on the lunar surface, along with the construction of space data centers and infrastructure.

He added that plans are underway to build a lunar base for related exploration and then review investments in nuclear energy technology.

Regarding the role of private space companies, he said, "SpaceX and Blue Origin are improving their large launch vehicles with in-orbit cryogenic propellant transfer technology to increase reusability. This will enable us to travel to the Moon economically and with high frequency, and furthermore, prepare for missions to Mars and beyond."

Isaacman, who amassed considerable wealth as the founder of payment processing company Shift4, began his association with Musk as a SpaceX investor since late 2020 and has a history of funding and personally participating in SpaceX's private astronaut missions.