The incoming administration's support for commercial partnerships could enable NASA to concentrate on key missions while outsourcing more tasks to private contractors.

NASA's timeline is further complicated by SpaceX's need to successfully test its Starship rocket, which will be used for the Artemis III landing.

NASA is currently engaged in a second Space Race, primarily with China, as it prepares to send astronauts to the moon with the Artemis III mission, which has been delayed until mid-2027.

The delay of Artemis III, pushed back from September 2025, is attributed to safety concerns regarding the Orion capsule's heat shield, which encountered issues during its previous flight.

To address the heat shield problem, NASA plans to modify Orion's atmospheric reentry approach rather than changing the shield material, while a new heat shield will be installed for Artemis III.

Artemis III aims to land astronauts at the lunar south pole, a region believed to contain water ice, which is essential for future lunar and Mars missions.

Experts, including Clayton Swope from CSIS, emphasize that the real competition lies in reaching Mars, where no humans have landed yet, and NASA must first successfully complete Artemis III.

Jared Isaacman, appointed as NASA chief in December 2024, emphasizes an integrated approach to space exploration, focusing on both lunar and Mars missions, which may signal a shift in NASA's priorities.

Isaacman faces challenges related to budget constraints and the potential scrapping of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), which has been criticized for its high costs exceeding $4 billion per launch.