In a game-changing shift Elon Musk and Donald Trump have joined forces to re-write Americas space story — with Mars as the main character (a move that could shake-up NASAs current moon-first approach)
The partnership kicked-off last fall when Musk showed up at a political event wearing his Mars-themed t-shirt and put $119-million into Trumps campaign; this wasnt just a random space-enthusiast move but a well-thought-out plan
NASAs moon program might get a major re-design: sources say the focus will shift towards the red planet with un-crewed missions planned for this decade. The space agencyʼs fixed-price contracts could become more common which means private companies will take on bigger roles
The moon is just a launching pad
The changes could affect many existing projects. The Space Launch System — a $24-billion rocket program thats been running since early-2010s might face hard times‚ even though its cancellation would affect thousands of jobs
Musks company SpaceX says theyll put their Starship on Mars by 26‚ followed by people four years later. However space expert Scott Pace thinks differently: “putting an empty Starship on Mars during Trumps term is doable; putting people there isnt“