Apparently, there won't be any successor to the International Space Station, as the space agency confirms that it will not have any plans for an ISS 2.0,  according to NASA's chief of human spaceflight, William Gerstenmaier at a meeting with NASA's advisory panel.

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NASA will not fund the current space station beyond 2028 as its new main goal is to bring astronauts to the moon's orbit also known as cislunar space. Gerstenmaier also confirms that the U.S. space agency will get out of ISS as quickly as they can.

NASA's vision is to move out of the ISS, whether or not the space station will be run by private space companies such as SpaceX and Orbital ATK, adds Gerstenmaier. He also says that the agency has to leave lower Earth orbit behind since it cannot fund both space projects at the same time, as they are too expensive.

NASA is also hoping for private commercial space companies which are the same ones sending resupply cargo to the current ISS, namely SpaceX and Orbital ATK, to take the orbital laboratory's place in lower Earth orbit.

The space agency cannot force the private space companies to build their own ISS 2.0, giving them the opportunity to study microgravity environment while the ISS is still conducting scientific experiments aboard the orbital lab, where funding is still coming from NASA.

Tax incentives from the government will hopefully be rewarded to private space companies when they decide to conduct experiments on materials or products in zero gravity aboard the space station according to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

NASA's plans to occupy cislunar space is no longer a surprise since the agency has been planning to conduct experiments near the moon to serve as a starting point for future manned Mars explorations. NASA is also planning to launch its newest, most powerful rocket to date, the Space Launch System, which is expected to fly around lunar orbit with four crew members inside the Orion capsule by 2021.

TagsNASA ISS, International Space Station, NASA closes leaves ISS to private sector, NASA ISS space station lunar orbit moon