As the US presidential election draws to a close, NASA is calling for the continuation of its human exploration programs, stressing the importance of staying on the journey to the Moon and Mars, no matter who the next president is. Surprisingly, both candidates agreed to maintain US leadership in space, but their plans have not yet been detailed. With Donald Trump in charge, Mars will be in SpaceX’s crosshairs.
Regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election and the candidate elected, NASA insists on the importance of preserving its research objectives. The U.S. agency wants the next administration’s space policy to continue to support a United States return to the Moon as part of the Artemis program, while launching an advance program for a manned mission to Mars.
Continuity win condition
NASA Associate Administrator Jim Frey astutely pointed out that “ Maintaining a constant orientation is essential in a lunar mission. “He warns” Risks that could arise from a change of course, particularly the risk of dispersion of efforts and loss of US leadership in the space domain. – An unfortunately common occurrence when a new administration takes over. Frey emphasizes that under Joe Biden’s administration, the Artemis efforts initiated by Donald Trump were largely sustained, recalling that “ That consistency has not been seen since the Apollo program. ».
“This may indicate a bipartisan desire to support the return of the United States to the Moon and its long-term settlement.“
Although the presidential candidates have not detailed the space policy they would like to pursue, information available on the Internet sites of the Republican and Democratic parties shows a certain consensus in favor of continuing existing space programs. This may indicate a bipartisan desire to support the return of the United States to the Moon and its long-term settlement.
A poorly detailed space policy program
Concretely, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris affirmed that she would continue to support NASA and the US presence aboard the International Space Station, continuing the return of astronauts to the Moon and Mars. Her track record as chair of the National Space Council suggests that she is expected to continue the current major programs and policies.
As for Donald Trump, a strong supporter of human exploration, he has announced that under his leadership, the United States will build a strong manufacturing industry. orbitorbit Earth, send astronauts back to the Moon and then Mars, and strengthen partnerships with the growing commercial space sector. In this context, the connection with Elon MuskElon Musk In particular, accelerating the schedule of existing programs may have positive consequences for exploration programs.
With Trump, Mars in the crosshairs
During a political speech, Trump said he could lead an accelerated program of human missions to Mars using SpaceX’s Starship. ” We are going to put an American astronaut on Mars. Thanks, Alvin “, he said during a rally on October 24.
For his part, Elon Musk recently shared his ambitions for Mars, indicating that he “ Planned to start five StarshipStarship Bound for the Red Planet in two years “, he says, during the next one in 2026 the windowthe window Shooting If these missions are successful, Musk plans to “ A manned mission possible in four years in 2028 “, although difficulties may lead to a two-year postponement. If this calendar, unveiled on September 8 at X, is too ambitious to say the least, it should be retained. SpaceXSpaceX And Elon Musk has always kept his promises, albeit belatedly.
