Elon Musk’s ambition to send humans to Mars could see renewed momentum with Donald Trump’s return to the White House. With the tech billionaire’s backing for Trump’s recent campaign, Musk’s vision of making Mars missions a national priority may gain fresh support from the new US administration, according to Reuters. Reports suggest that with Trump in office, Musk’s Mars missions could receive an added boost alongside potential changes to NASA’s focus, shifting more attention to the Red Planet.
Musk, who appeared at a Trump rally in October sporting an “Occupy Mars” T-shirt, reportedly spent $119 million supporting Trump’s White House bid. Just last month, Musk announced that SpaceX’s Starship could land on Mars by 2026, with a crewed mission planned four years later. Trump has also voiced interest in Musk’s goals, describing the moon as a stepping stone to Mars in recent statements.
These missions will start with uncrewed flights, as Musk confirmed on X, explaining that initial landings are intended to test reliability. If these early landings succeed, SpaceX aims to send humans to Mars within four years. “The flight rate will grow exponentially,” Musk said, with the ultimate goal of establishing a self-sustaining city on Mars within two decades. He believes that becoming a “multiplanetary species” is essential to safeguarding humanity’s long-term future.
NASA’s Artemis program, originally aimed at lunar exploration, could shift more towards Mars, insiders suggest. This ambitious approach would leverage Starship to conduct lunar missions as preparation for future Mars exploration. But advancing with these targets will not come without challenges, including significant costs and technological risks.
In an unusual move for a presidential transition, Musk’s endorsement of Trump appears to have pushed space policy higher on the new administration’s agenda. Doug Loverro, a space policy consultant and former head of NASA’s human exploration division, noted that Trump’s win could bring a more “realistic Mars plan,” with Mars firmly in focus as an objective.
Though NASA’s plans remain uncertain, changes could include more support for deregulation, something Musk has long advocated. NASA may adopt more fixed-price contracts, enabling private companies like SpaceX to assume greater responsibility while reducing the burden on government programs. This shift could challenge NASA’s own costly Space Launch System (SLS), whose development has already stretched the Artemis program’s budget.
Some experts remain sceptical of Musk’s Mars timeline. “Could Elon land a Starship on Mars by the end of Trump’s term? Possibly, as a one-way mission,” says Scott Pace, former head of space policy under Trump’s first term. “But a crewed mission is another matter – you have to walk before you run.”
SpaceX recently demonstrated the Starship’s capabilities when it successfully completed a reentry test in June, landing in the Indian Ocean. For Musk, this vehicle represents the future of human spaceflight, with the ultimate objective of transporting people and cargo to the moon and Mars.