Washington, December 18, 2025 — US President Donald J. Trump has signed a sweeping executive order aimed at ensuring American space superiority, outlining an ambitious strategy to expand human presence beyond Earth, strengthen national security in space, and accelerate commercial space development.
The order, titled “Ensuring American Space Superiority,” declares space dominance a core measure of national strength and directs federal agencies to align exploration, defense, and economic policies to secure US leadership in the next space age.
Under the new policy, the administration has set a target to return Americans to the Moon by 2028 through NASA’s Artemis Program, followed by the establishment of initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030. The White House says the lunar effort will lay the groundwork for future Mars missions while enabling long-term lunar economic activity.
The executive order places heavy emphasis on national security, directing the development of next-generation missile defense technologies by 2028 and expanding US capabilities to detect and counter threats from very low-Earth orbit through cislunar space. It explicitly highlights the need to prevent the placement of nuclear weapons in space and calls for a more adaptive national security space architecture through faster acquisitions and increased integration of commercial capabilities.
A major technological focus of the order is space-based nuclear power. The administration has directed agencies to enable near-term use of nuclear reactors in space, including deploying a lunar surface reactor ready for launch by 2030. The initiative is intended to support sustained human presence on the Moon and advanced space operations.
The policy also seeks to grow the US commercial space economy by attracting at least $50 billion in new investment by 2028, increasing launch and reentry capacity, and creating a private-sector pathway to replace the International Space Station by 2030. Federal agencies are instructed to prioritize commercial solutions and streamline acquisition processes to reduce costs and delays.
Internationally, the order calls for strengthening space security cooperation with allies and partners through increased spending, operational coordination, basing agreements, and investments in the US space industrial base.
To oversee implementation, the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology will coordinate interagency efforts, while NASA, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, and the State Department are tasked with submitting detailed plans and reforms within set deadlines ranging from 60 to 180 days.
The executive order revokes the 2021 National Space Council directive and revises existing space traffic management policies to allow greater commercial use of US-provided services.
The White House said the policy reflects the administration’s belief that American leadership in space is essential to national security, economic prosperity, and technological innovation in an era of intensifying global competition.
