Former President Donald Trump has pledged to advance plans for human exploration of Mars, outlining his vision for the future of space travel and American leadership in the cosmos. Discover his ambitious goals.
Former US President Donald Trump has promised to “reach Mars” before the conclusion of his term if he successfully defeats Vice President Kamala Harris in next month’s election. He announced that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk would lead this ambitious mission.
Musk attended a campaign rally with Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening. The event took place at the location of an assassination attempt against Trump back in July. During his speech, the 45th president reiterated several well-known campaign promises: securing the US southern border, resolving the Ukraine conflict, and reducing energy prices and inflation. He also made a pledge to reach Mars by 2028.
“We will spearhead global space exploration,” he declared to the audience. “We’ll set foot on Mars before my term concludes.”
“Elon promised me he would handle it,” Trump said, then turned to Musk and asked, “I don’t know, can you manage that?”
“We’re going to win, and he will reach Mars by the end of our term, which is huge—before China or anyone else. I’m betting on Musk.”
In his initial term, Trump implemented several executive orders and policy directives focused on space. In 2017, he directed NASA to spearhead “the return of humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations.” By 2019, he had also established the US Space Force as the sixth branch of America’s military forces—a move that drew criticism from opponents who accused him of militarizing outer space.
READ ALSO: Trump Supporters Declare Netflix Boycott Amid Political Tensions
Earlier this summer, Musk, who endorsed Trump’s campaign, reiterated his longstanding goal of transforming humanity into a “multiplanetary” civilization. He has often cited excessive government regulation as the main obstacle to his Mars colonization plans. Last month, he announced that SpaceX’s reusable ‘Starship’ rocket could be ready for uncrewed missions to Mars within two years and crewed ones two years following that schedule. However, after the Federal Aviation Administration declined permission for SpaceX to test the rocket before November due to environmental concerns, Musk voiced his frustration on X by saying “we will never get humanity to Mars if this continues.”
“Regrettably, we remain in a situation where the time required to complete government paperwork for licensing a rocket launch exceeds that needed to design and construct the hardware itself,” SpaceX stated at the time. “This should never occur and poses a direct threat to America’s leadership position in space.”
In his first term, Trump advocated for cutting two existing government regulations for each new one introduced. If re-elected, he has pledged to take this further by vowing at the New York Economic Club last month that he would “eliminate a minimum of 10 old regulations for every one regulation” implemented.
