Trump vows to plant flag on Mars, but omits mention of Moon return

The US President’s goal to reach the Red Planet has sidestepped the Artemis program that he championed during his first term in office.

Starship's Super Heavy Booster returns to the SpaceX launch pad near Boca Chica, Texas, on January 16. Picture: SpaceX/AFP

US President Donald Trump vowed to “plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars” but made no mention of NASA’s planned return to the Moon, heightening speculation about his space strategy.

During his first term, the Republican launched the Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon as a stepping stone to the Red Planet – yet even then he expressed doubts about the Moon’s necessity.

“We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars,” he said in his inauguration speech at the US Capitol in Washington,

The remarks are unlikely to quell the idea that he wants to skip the Moon.

A November picture from the surface of Mars returned by the Perseverance lander. Picture: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Mr Trump is thought to be joined in his desire by his close ally and Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, who envisages colonising Mars with the help of his prototype rocket Starship.

The testing of the largest rocket ever built is being limited by federal regulators over concerns about discharging contaminated water into protected wetlands

Mr Musk retweeted a clip of himself at the inauguration raising two thumbs up, grinning, and clapping wildly as Mr Trump made his remarks.

“America is going to Mars,” he posted.

It follows a post on X earlier this month: “We’re going straight to Mars. The Moon is a distraction,” Mr Musk tweeted.

The SpaceX website details Mr Musk’s ambitions for venturing to the Red Planet.

“You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great – and that’s what being a spacefaring civilisation is all about … I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars,” Mr Musk states.

SpaceX lists Mars as suitable for colonising due to its suitable climate, ability to grow plants, day length, and gravity.

SpaceX and X chief executive Elon Musk enjoys the limelight at Capital One Arena. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

Such a shift would be seismic for a program projected to cost more than $90 billion.

It is also likely to meet stiff opposition in the US Congress, where both Republicans and Democrats have an interest in preserving jobs in their constituencies linked to exploring the Moon.

Much of this revolves around the Space Launch System (SLS), NASA’s heavy-lift rocket with contractors and suppliers spread across the country.

China, meanwhile, has set its sights on landing in the lunar south pole by 2030, a move the US is unlikely to let go unchallenged.

On the other hand, the next NASA chief is slated to be Jared Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut who has had business dealings with SpaceX, raising questions of possible conflicts of interest.