President Donald Trump has set an ambitious goal to put man back on the moon by 2028 and to get ready to go to Mars in a Dec. 18 executive order, “Ensuring American Space Superiority,” that has tremendous historical, technological, economic and national security implications that will almost certainly reverberate for decades to come.
The President’s order established the priority of “returning Americans to the Moon by 2028 through the Artemis Program, to assert American leadership in space, lay the foundations for lunar economic development, prepare for the journey to Mars, and inspire the next generation of American explorers.”
Not since 1972’s Apollo 17 have Americans or anyone else for that matter visited the moon besides robots and satellites, a drought of 53 years after six manned missions arrived safely between 1969 and 1972: Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17.
But that was just kind of to go up and take a look around, whereas with current advanced technologies, the President is now making a push for man’s permanence on the moon and beyond.
President Trump justified the renewed push for man into the solar system because it’s there and to bolster national and economic security, with the order stating, “Superiority in space is a measure of national vision and willpower, and the technologies Americans develop to achieve it contribute substantially to the Nation’s strength, security, and prosperity. The United States must therefore pursue a space policy that will extend the reach of human discovery, secure the Nation’s vital economic and security interests, unleash commercial development, and lay the foundation for a new space age.”
The news comes on the heels of the Senate’s 67-30 confirmation of Jared Isaacman to be the new NASA Administrator on Dec. 17. What a great year to be running this program. Lucky guy.
The first manned mission will be on the Artemis Program, begun in 2012 and designed as the successor for the Apollo program. The first step appears to be in 2026 with the Orion spacecraft designed by Lockheed Martin, with the next launch window opening up as soon as Feb. 5, 2026. Artemis II will be a crewed mission to orbit the moon and test new communications systems, a necessary precursor to landing again. The mission will be crewed by Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen.
According a Dec. 16 NASA press statement, “The Artemis II crew participated in more than 30 mission simulations alongside teams on the ground, ensuring the crew and launch, flight, and recovery teams are prepared for any situation that may arise during the test flight. Soon, crew will don their survival suits and get strapped into Orion during a countdown demonstration test, serving as a dress rehearsal for launch day.” That dress rehearsal just occurred on Dec. 20.
But the goals the President has outlined go much further, including eventually establishing a permanent base on the moon by “establishing initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030 to ensure a sustained American presence in space and enable the next steps in Mars exploration.”
My son recently wrote a timely paper in high school about the possibility of extending beyond the moon to Mars, writing it was “necessary for the survival of humanity” with two simple to understand premises: That Mars is the closest, most habitable planetary neighbor to Earth with enough water, carbon dioxide and gravity to survive, and that with the ever present threat of nuclear war with over 12,300 nuclear weapons worldwide, we had better already be on Mars if such a tragedy were to ever befall man. That met with my approval and I would add that near-Earth asteroids pose a similar threat, meaning that if civilization and humanity are to endure long-term, we need to increase the odds of man’s survival.
And the moon is the first step. Then Mars, and beyond.
As it happens, SpaceX reports that the next window to send missions to Mars, satellites, rovers and such, will occur in 2026, with the company helmed by Elon Musk (and going public very soon), with the first Starships to go to Mars set to launch next year. Very cool.
So, yes, there are components of national greatness, national security, economic expansion (based on technological advancement alone it’s worth every penny at $4.1 billion for the 2026 flight according to the NASA Office of Inspector General) and, ultimately, returning to the moon and then journeying to Mars just might be the most important steps we take as a species yet as the next generation of space exploration begins. As more companies get involved, the costs should eventually begin dropping, too, while the benefits will be experienced for many years to come. It’s an exciting time to gaze at the stars and wonder about America and humanity’s destiny there.
We’re about to make another giant leap for mankind.
Robert Romano is the Executive Director of Americans for Limited Government.
