Elon Musk’s ambition to transport humans to Mars may gain momentum under President-elect Donald Trump, according to sources familiar with Trump’s space policy plans. NASA’s Artemis program, which involves Musk’s SpaceX Starship rocket, currently aims to place humans on the moon as a step toward Mars missions. Under the new administration, however, the program is expected to prioritize Mars more directly, with potential uncrewed missions as soon as this decade.
This shift aligns with Musk’s long-term goal of making Mars humanity’s next frontier. Known for wearing an “Occupy Mars” shirt at a Trump rally in October, Musk has strongly endorsed the incoming president, contributing $119 million to Trump’s campaign and heightening the visibility of space policy during the transition.
Sources indicate that the Trump administration’s approach to NASA will focus more intensively on Mars, seeing the moon as a mere “launching pad” for a Mars mission. Doug Loverro, a space industry consultant who led NASA’s human exploration unit during Trump’s previous term, notes that a Mars-centered agenda could make the Red Planet an explicit objective. Yet, an intensified Mars focus also poses increased financial and technical challenges, especially in comparison to lunar missions.
Trump’s influence on space policy isn’t new: he launched NASA’s Artemis program in 2019, which the Biden administration maintained. However, Trump’s advisers now plan to push for changes in Artemis to correct what they perceive as stagnation since their last administration. This could entail shifting from costly government contracts to fixed-price agreements with private companies, which would transfer greater responsibility—and risk—to firms like SpaceX.
Under Musk’s influence, the Trump administration may also look to reduce regulatory constraints, particularly at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Musk has long voiced frustration over the FAA’s commercial space regulations, which he argues have delayed SpaceX’s Starship program. Deregulation could thus expedite private rocket launches, aiding Musk’s vision for Mars.
Such policy shifts may impact NASA’s $24 billion Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, a government-owned project led by Boeing and Northrop Grumman since 2011. If Artemis pivots toward Mars, the SLS program could face scrutiny, as critics argue it has drained NASA’s budget while struggling with delays. Nonetheless, canceling the program would be difficult due to the potential job losses and greater reliance on SpaceX for space missions.
Musk, who also heads Tesla and Neuralink, is known for setting ambitious timelines. He recently claimed that SpaceX could land Starship on Mars by 2026, with a crewed mission following by 2030. Trump has publicly discussed these Mars aspirations with Musk, although experts are cautious about the feasibility. Scott Pace, Trump’s top space policy official during his previous term, believes that while a one-way Starship mission to Mars might be achievable, a fully crewed mission remains unlikely within such a short timeline.
Plans for Musk’s Mars vision could change as the Trump transition team finalizes its policy agenda. For now, it appears that both Musk and Trump are aligned in their drive to push the boundaries of space exploration, targeting Mars as a significant goal for the near future.