Elon Musk and Donald Trump Aim for MARS instead of the Moon!
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Now that Donald Trump has secured another term and Elon Musk is joining forces with his administration, Mars has instantly become a top priority in the United States space policy. It's a huge shift from NASA's previous focus on the Artemis program, which was all about getting humans back to the moon first. With Musk now playing a key role in this, the conversation has quickly moved towards aiming directly for Mars.

Now, Trump's enthusiasm for pushing beyond the moon isn't new, though. Even during his first term, he called lunar missions a stepping stone and often described them as boring. Now, since we've already done that before, he wants to move on. Now, it looks like the plan is to leverage SpaceX's Starship to get us to Mars faster than anyone has anticipated. But back...

On June 30th, 2017, Trump signed an executive order to reestablish the National Space Council, chaired by then Vice President Mike Pence. This was a big deal because it brought focus back to space exploration at the national policy level.

And Trump's first budget request kept many of the Obama-era programs intact, though, including the commercial resupply services and the development of the Orion spacecraft for deep space missions. However, he cut back on Earth science research and proposed eliminating NASA's Education Office, signaling a shift towards prioritizing exploration beyond Earth's orbit.

Later in December of 2017, Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1, which set the stage for U.S.-led return to the moon as part of the broader plan that includes Mars. Now, this directive led to the creation of the Artemis program, which was built on legacy projects like the Orion capsule and the Lunar Gateway. But now with Elon Musk on board, there's a strong push to use this momentum for Mars missions as the main focus.

SpaceX launched their massive Starship rocket on October 13th of this year. I think it's 400 feet tall, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever.

But the wild part isn't just the launch. It's what they pulled off right after. They actually caught the entire booster with a launch tower. It's like landing a skyscraper back on its foundation. You have to wonder if they can do this. This might be the breakthrough that finally puts Mars within our reach. And Starship is Musk's favorite project. He believes it's the key to colonizing Mars. And the current idea is to use Starship for lunar missions first to prove the technology, then aim straight for Mars after that.

Now that Trump is back in the White House and Musk has a seat at the table, it's likely we'll see Starship being pushed into Mars missions even faster. Trump's administration is likely to take a more aggressive approach now, aiming to leap ahead and possibly beat countries like China in the race to Mars.

It's no surprise that Musk backed Trump's campaign. Elon's had major frustrations with government interference and regulations slowing down SpaceX's progress, especially from agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration. And now that Musk is officially part of Trump's team, he could push hard for deregulation, potentially making it easier and faster for SpaceX to launch Starship missions, particularly the big ambitious ones aimed at Mars.

Now, Musk has reportedly suggested putting some of his own top SpaceX employees in key government positions, including at the Defense Department. This could be a game changer for SpaceX, as having insiders at the federal level would help streamline decisions, secure contracts. The idea of having Musk's people in key positions goes beyond just reducing red tape, though. It could lead to a fundamental shift in NASA's plans. Right now, the Artemis program relies heavily on the Space Launch System, or the SLS, which

a massive rocket built by Boeing that has faced endless delays and cost overruns. But with Musk's influence and Starship's proven capabilities,

Trump's administration might shift focus away from the SLS and rely more on Starship and SpaceX's solutions. Now, let's dive into what makes Starship a little bit more special than everything else. It's two stages. It's a two-stage vehicle. Super heavy booster, which provides the initial thrust in the spacecraft known as the Starship, which is designed to carry crew and cargo. It's fully reusable, unlike most rockets, which are single-used.

And Musk's goal is to make space travel as common and cost effective as air travel. Because they need to get launch costs down to just a few million dollars per flight. Thanks to starships for usable design. This kind of affordability could make regular Mars missions more.

Shifting NASA's focus from the moon to Mars isn't a small challenge, though. It would require a major reallocation of resources and funding, especially given the significant investments already made in Artemis. During his first presidency, Trump pushed NASA to get results quickly. Now, with Musk helping to lead the charge, we might even see an even faster push towards manned missions to Mars.

Musk has been very vocal about his Mars timeline, predicting that SpaceX could land an uncrewed starship on Mars by 2026, followed by a crewed mission in 2028. This is incredibly ambitious, and many experts doubt whether it's achievable. Mars is roughly 140 million miles away, and a round-trip mission would take two to three years.

It's not like the moon where astronauts can return within a few weeks. You know, the challenges of sending humans to the surface of Mars are enormous. For starters, Mars has a very thin atmosphere, which makes landing spacecraft extremely difficult. There's also the issue of radiation. Without a strong magnetic field like Earth's, astronauts would be exposed to dangerous levels of cosmic radiation during the journey.

Inessa's engineers have emphasized the need for new life support systems and habitats to ensure the safety of the crew. Financially, shifting to a Mars-first strategy would be a big deal.

The Artemis program has already cost NASA around $93 billion through 2025. And if Donald Trump decides to prioritize Mars instead, much of that funding could be redirected to support SpaceX's Starship missions. This might streamline NASA's budget, but could also leave other scientific projects without the resources that they need. And with Trump back in office, the competition with China in space has become more intense.

Trump has repeatedly talked about the importance of beating China to Mars, framing it as a matter of national pride. He's even said during campaign rallies that he trusts Musk to get there before anyone else. This kind of rhetoric could lead to a new space race, with the U.S. heading hard to be the first to put boots on Mars.

Now, also let's talk about what's possible with Starship because this vehicle is a big part of the new plan. SpaceX recently completed a successful test of Starship's reentry capabilities where the spacecraft landed safely after a high altitude test flight. Musk sees this as proof that Starship can handle both lunar and Martian missions, even though we're still a long way from Mars full scale missions. Now Starship's payload capacity is huge.

And that's one of its main advantages. It can carry up to 150 metric tons to low Earth orbit in a fully reusable configuration. And for capacity, NASA's SLS can carry about 95 metric tons. I mean, Starship can carry not only astronauts, but also a massive amount of cargo, which is crucial for long-term missions to Mars. The kind of things you'd want to fit inside Starship for a Mars mission include habitat modules, scientific equipment, life support systems.

These would be essential for setting up a base on Mars. SpaceX plans to send several uncrewed starships first, loaded with supplies and gear, to create a foundation before the astronauts arrive. The ability to carry such large payloads in a single rocket launch makes Starship ideal for building the initial infrastructure needed on Mars.

An important cargo for Mars missions would be power systems like solar panels and batteries. Mars doesn't have a power grid, obviously, so you need to bring your own. Starship could carry enough solar panels to generate the electricity needed for the habitat and scientific equipment. This would be critical for sustaining life on Mars and supporting any research activities. Now, Starship can also carry specialized equipment.

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Starship can also carry specialized rovers and exploration vehicles. These rovers would help transport astronauts and equipment across the Martian surface. SpaceX could fit several of these rovers in a single launch, allowing the crew to have transportation ready as soon as they land. This would be vital for exploring the terrain and finding resources like water ice, which could be used for drinking water and even to make rocket fuel.

And Starship's cargo capacity allows for the transport of food, water, and other essential supplies to sustain the crew. Given the length of a Mars mission, likely two to three years round trip, astronauts will need a significant amount of provisions. Starship's large payload space means it can bring enough supplies to keep the crew safe and healthy for the entire duration of the mission, reducing the need for resupply missions and making it more feasible to stay on Mars longer.

If you're a fan of SpaceX, let me know down in the comments below by adding a rocket emoji if you have no comment. But if you want to talk about Mars and what Elon Musk and Donald Trump can do for the future of humanity, also let me know down in the comments. I want to know what you think about all this stuff because it's going to be a shift from where we are now, which is SpaceX doing missions for NASA. Basically, when SLS goes offline,

SpaceX will be doing all the missions to Mars for NASA. They won't have to worry about SLS. So please leave a comment down below, leave a like, and also hit the subscribe button with maximum dynamic pressure. Please take care of yourselves and each other. I'll see you in the next one.