A New Orbit: Replacing the ISS With Moon-Targeted Space Stations

As the International Space Station nears retirement around 2030, global space agencies and commercial players are pursuing a crowded array of successors: NASA/ESA/CSA/JAXA’s Lunar Gateway around the Moon, China’s planned Tiangong expansion, Russia’s shift to reusing ISS modules as the Russian Orbital Station, and India’s Bharatiya Antariksh Station, with timelines extending to 2035 and beyond. The ISS’s aging hardware and health concerns spur these plans, while a growing slate of science, exploration, and commercial missions edge orbital activity closer to the Moon and beyond. A Part II on commercial concepts is promised.