The United States has defined space as a core battlefield for national hegemony, security, and industrial competitiveness and has moved to overhaul its strategy. U.S. President Donald Trump on Dec. 18, 2025 (local time) signed a sweeping executive order at the White House to cement America's dominance in space and make space a central pillar of national security and economic prosperity.
Titled "Securing America's Space Supremacy," this executive order is the first major space policy step of Trump's second term. The order sets concrete deadlines to send Americans back to the moon by 2028 and to build a permanent surface base and a nuclear power plant on the moon by 2030. It is effectively a declaration of intent to seize both a "space gold rush" and "space security." The White House said, "This action is a rerouting of U.S. space policy to secure American leadership in space exploration, security, and commerce amid intensifying global competition."
"Return to the moon by 2028 to build an economic zone"
The Trump administration will first accelerate the Artemis program to land American astronauts on the moon by 2028. The United States is pursuing the Artemis program to send humans back to the moon for the first time in half a century. Since Apollo 17 launched in Dec. 1972, the United States has not sent people to the moon. Beyond key U.S. allies such as Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Australia, India and Brazil, members of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), have also expressed willingness to participate. Washington is waging a diplomatic contest in space with Russia and China as well. So far, 60 countries have signaled interest in joining Artemis. The United States sent the Artemis I lunar probe into lunar orbit in Nov. 2022 and is preparing to launch Artemis II, carrying astronauts into lunar orbit, after May this year.
The Trump administration also specified in the order a plan to build initial facilities for a permanent lunar base by 2030 to form a "lunar economic zone" and maintain U.S. influence.
It also formalized a plan to deploy a reactor on the moon and in cislunar orbit by 2030. In July 2025, then-acting NASA Director General Sean Duffy said he would push to install a reactor on the moon. The move is seen as an effort to secure stable power essential for long-term lunar stays and deep-space exploration. In Jan. 2021, during the first term, President Trump also issued an executive order encouraging development of small modular reactors (SMRs) for use in defense and space exploration.
Another notable element of the executive order is revitalizing the commercial space economy. It includes establishing a private-sector-led space hub to replace the International Space Station (ISS) and introducing business-friendly models such as firm fixed-price contracts to usher in a "space corporations era." To that end, it finalized a plan to retire the ISS from low Earth orbit (LEO) by 2030 and replace it with commercial space stations. The aim is for private corporations such as Axiom Space, Blue Origin, Orbital Reef, and Starlab to take over ISS missions, which are currently jointly operated by 16 governments.
Communications and navigation services conducted in space between Earth and the moon will also be entrusted to the private sector, and a goal was set to make the United States the leading nation for international standards in space traffic management and orbital debris mitigation, commonly called space junk. To fund this, President Trump directed that at least $5 billion (about 7.298 trillion won) in additional investment be attracted to the U.S. space market by 2028.
Space is a battleground for hegemony… resolve to root out bureaucracy
The Trump administration clearly defined space as a realm of security and a battlefield for hegemony. Trump expanded his campaign pledge, "Iron Dome for America" (Executive Order 14186), into space. Iron Dome is a next-generation space and ground defense system that uses satellites and space-based sensors to destroy missiles launched not only within the country but also from potential adversary bases in China, Russia, and North Korea. The goal is to demonstrate a prototype of next-generation missile defense technology by 2028 and build a threat-detection system spanning from low Earth orbit to lunar orbit. The order also said, "Secure the capability to respond to threats, including the deployment of nuclear weapons in space."
Announced just hours after billionaire private astronaut and former SpaceX customer Jared Isaacman took office as the 15th NASA Director General, the executive order also includes a sweeping overhaul of the national space policy coordination system. Trump ordered NASA and the Commerce Department to completely reform procurement procedures and review unnecessary redundant staffing. Instead of the National Space Committee created under President Joe Biden, the White House's assistant to the president for science and technology (APST) will now oversee national space policy overall, and NASA, the Ministry of National Defense, the Commerce Department, and intelligence agencies were directed to cooperate closely and swiftly with private corporations. Programs falling more than 30% behind schedule or exceeding expense thresholds will be subject to immediate reporting.
The order also emphasized allies' contributions in space. With expanded space security expenditure and base agreements, Washington is expected to seek burden-sharing for space defense, raising the possibility that a "space bill" could be sent to allies, including Korea. Korea is expected to play a key role as an ally through deep space network (DSN) communications linking the moon and Mars, the jointly developed space telescope SPHER-Ex with NASA, and K-RADCube, a semiconductor experiment satellite to be carried on Artemis II.
Some, however, say the order lacks substance. For now, the Trump administration cut NASA's 2026 budget to $18.8 billion (about 27.44 trillion won), down 24% from the previous year ($24.9 billion). Congress stepped in to restore the budget to $24.4 billion (about 35.61 trillion won), but the move is somewhat at odds with the administration's stated resolve to maintain hegemony in space.
Esther Brimmer, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said, "This executive order, with its bold title of securing American space superiority, brings together forward-leaning policies," adding, "For these policies to succeed, practical space safety norms supported by all nations must also be established."