PUNE: US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday night after his inauguration that “American astronauts will plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars”, has raised questions about whether America’s Artemis mission NASA to the moon will remain in the background.
Trump’s statement, one of a series of announcements, supports Elon Musk’s grandiose plan to colonize Mars and eventually send a million people to the Red Planet.
Significantly, Trump’s speech did not mention the lunar mission. Instead, he said, “And we will pursue our manifest destiny to the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.” He added: “The call of the next great adventure resonates from within our souls.”
Musk could be seen responding to the announcement with a big smile and a thumbs up. Trump’s statement is seen as clear evidence of Musk’s influence on the new administration. The richest man in the world wants to make humanity a multiplanetary species.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, space experts here speculated that Trump may have ignored NASA’s Artemis mission to the moon because it is plagued by enormous problems, both financial and technical, that have caused delays.
In fact, NASA’s Office of Inspector General has criticized the program, highlighting cost overruns.
According to experts, given Musk’s growing closeness with the new president, SpaceX, his company, is expected to receive a boost when it comes to its future missions.
Space X had originally planned to launch its first drone Starship flight to Mars in 2026, arriving at its destination six months later. But with the failure of its recent Starship 7 mission, it is unclear whether the schedule for the unmanned mission to Mars can be met, they said.