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President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address on Jan. 20.
President Donald Trump called for the U.S. to bring astronauts to the Moon, without putting a timeline on the ambition.
He made the call during his Jan. 20 inaugural address. “We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars,” he said.
Trump’s support for space endeavors predates his new term in office. During his prior presidency, from 2017 to 2021, he championed the creation of the Space Force and challenged NASA with returning astronauts to the Moon as early as 2024
The president’s support for a Mars mission was widely expected given his close ties to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who was one of Trump’s biggest financial backers in his latest run for office. Musk also hosted the then-president elect for a Starship mission in November. Musk and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos were among the billionaires attending the inaugural event Washington.
Trump did not address how his Mars call might affect NASA’s current plans for a Moon mission. NASA in December pushed back the anticipated launch dates for the Artemis II and Artemis III crewed lunar missions. Artemis II is now scheduled for April 2026 and Artemis III for mid-2027.
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