Watchdog: Canceled NASA contracts more than doubled in cost

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

A new federal watchdog report found contract values on canceled Artemis systems more than doubled, to $5.9 billion, and NASA still hasn’t disclosed what its Moon-to-Mars program will cost.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and Moon Base program manager Carlos García-Galán will hold a virtual briefing at 2:30 p.m. EDT June 30 to discuss the next round of lunar lander mission awards and preview upcoming contracting opportunities.

The briefing comes as the NASA Office of Inspector General reported Wednesday that four Artemis systems NASA canceled or repurposed earlier this year saw their combined contract values grow from $2.8 billion to $5.9 billion. The watchdog projected costs would have climbed even higher had work continued.

NASA has not provided a total cost estimate for its Moon-to-Mars program. At a March briefing, Administrator Jared Isaacman said NASA would invest approximately $20 billion over seven years to build the moon base, but did not provide a total cost for the broader program when reporters asked about funding.

The watchdog projected the Boeing-built Exploration Upper Stage alone would have cost $3.7 billion if completed, nearly four times its original $962 million contract value and about 7.5 years behind schedule.

NASA’s acting inspector general testified before Congress in January 2024 that the Artemis program alone was projected to exceed $93 billion through 2025. The inspector general also projected the SLS/Orion system would cost at least $4.2 billion per launch for the program’s first four missions, not including $42 billion in formulation and development costs.

The Government Accountability Office has designated NASA acquisition management a high-risk area for more than 30 years.

The agency faces budget uncertainty. The White House proposed cutting NASA from $24.4 billion to $18.8 billion, a 23% reduction, while the House has advanced legislation keeping funding flat.

U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said the White House proposal could not support President Donald Trump’s own exploration goals.

A NASA spokesperson said the agency was unlikely to meet a request for comment before publication on the total cost of its Moon-to-Mars program or when such an estimate would be available.

NASA officials said in March that canceled Gateway hardware would be repurposed for the Moon Base, but the inspector general reported Wednesday that NASA has yet to decide whether or how to use it.