PUNE: US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday night after his inauguration that “American astronauts will plant the Stars and Stripes on planet Mars,” has raised questions of whether Nasa’s Artemis mission to the moon will be put on the back burner.
Trump’s declaration, one among a series of announcements, endorses Elon Musk’s grandiose plan of colonising Mars and sending a million people to the Red Planet over time.
Significantly, Trump’s speech made no mention of the lunar mission. Instead, he said, “And we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on planet Mars.’’ He added, “The call of the next great adventure resounds from within our souls”.
Musk could be seen responding to the announcement with a huge smile and a thumbs-up. Trump’s declaration is being viewed as clear evidence of Musk’s influence on the new administration. The world’s richest man wants to make humanity a multi-planetary species.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, space experts here speculated that Trump might have ignored Nasa’s Artemis mission to the moon because it is beset with huge problems, both financial and technical, which have led to delays.
In fact, Nasa Office of Inspector General has criticised the programme, highlighting cost overruns.
According to the experts, given Musk’s growing closeness to the new president, SpaceX, his company, is expected to get a shot in the arm as far as its future missions are concerned.
Space X had originally planned to launch its first uncrewed Starship flight to Mars in 2026, reaching its destination six months later. But with the failure of its recent Starship 7 mission, it is uncertain whether the timeline for the uncrewed mission to Mars can be adhered to, they said.