Elon Musk’s dream of sending people to Mars will become a bigger priority under newly elected US president Donald Trump, revealing major changes to NASA’s Moon program.
SpaceX’s Starship launch system. Image: Reuters
NASA’s Artemis program aims to use SpaceX’s Starship rocket to send humans to the Moon as a foundation for future Mars missions. However, it is expected that the program will focus more on the red planet under Trump and aim for an unmanned mission there within this decade, according to sources familiar with the US president’s space policy. Reuters reported on November 11.
Choosing a destination of Mars with a spacecraft designed to carry astronauts is not only more ambitious than focusing on the Moon but also involves more risks and costs. Musk, who danced on stage at a Trump campaign rally in October wearing a “Colonize Mars” shirt, spent $119 million on Trump’s campaign and successfully promoted it. Space policy at an unusual time.
In September, weeks after Musk publicly endorsed Trump, Trump said the Moon was just a launching pad for his ultimate goal of reaching Mars. “At least we will have a more realistic Mars plan. You will see Mars become a target,” said Doug Loverro, a space industry consultant who directed NASA’s exploration division when Trump was in office. US President from 2017 to 2021, commented.
According to sources, the plan could still change as Trump’s cabinet is finalized in the coming weeks. Trump launched the Artemis program in 2019 during his first term and it is one of the few initiatives that remains under Biden’s presidency. Trump’s team of space advisers wants to reform a program that has allegedly become weak in their absence.
Musk, who owns electric car company Tesla and brain chip startup Neuralink, also aims to cut bureaucracy as a core foundation of his support for Trump. As for the space industry, Musk’s desire to reduce procedures will likely stimulate change at the US Federal Aviation Administration’s commercial space agency, which oversees private rocket launches. made Musk frustrated by slowing down the development progress of SpaceX’s Starship system.
NASA under Trump will certainly support fixed-price space contracts that give greater responsibility to private companies and scale back the overfunded programs that are becoming a burden for Artemis. That could cause trouble for the only rocket NASA owns, the Space Launch System (SLS), which has cost $24 billion to develop since 2011. Postponing the program would be difficult because it would cost thousands of people. job loss and increased dependence on SpaceX.