Donald Trump’s administration presented the proposal of the NASA of the fiscal year 2026whose objective would be Accelerate human space exploration to the moon and Marsthe space agency reported.
The total budget would be 18.8 billion dollars, 25% less than in 2025which would mean a cut of more than 6,000 million.
They would be assigned More than 7,000 million dollars to lunar exploration and another 1 billion in new investments for space programs focused on Mars.
But The plans of this new government would stop other key missions of NASA and coincide with a strong concern of the scientific community to advance the first trips manned to the so -called “red planet”, which could be highly dangerous.
However, according to NASA spokesman to EFE Agency, They would already be evaluating to land on Martian soil next year.
What happens to Trump’s budget for NASA?
Previously, the plans were to prioritize the next manned -manned of the Artemis and It was being evaluated to send humans to more advanced Mars this decade, at least 2030.
But it is possible that Trump and his candidate for new NASA administrator, the billionaire commercial astronaut Jared Isaacmanare hurrying the arrival on the neighboring planet.
This It would result in the end of other programs, such as Gatewayfor example, which consisted of putting together a space station in the orbit of the moon to make human alunizages more accessible.
-In addition, The SLS rocket (space launch system) and the Orion capsulewhich will take humans to the Moon in the Artemis III mission, would be retired after this.
Another program that would end is also expected Mars samples return That Rover Perseverance has been collecting, so that scientists on Earth could closely study the Martian soil.
“In line with the priority of the administration to return to the moon before China and send an American to Mars, the budget will promote priority missions and projects, ending financially unsustainable programs“, Says the state agency statement.
Will NASA send humans to Mars soon?
Isaacman’s presence in these plans has also brought criticism, since it is known that he is a strong ally of Elon Musk, who has repeatedly mentioned that he plans to colonize Mars by the hand of its spacex aerospace companyand wants to do it soon.
In fact, if the Trump administration plans are approved, Musk and other greats of the commercial space exploration, such as Jeff Bezos with Blue Origin, would be the most benefited, since the millionaire contracts that NASA will offer could be awarded for the development of technology for new programs.
“Based on the president’s promise to increase efficiency, this budget opens a centered, innovative and fiscal road towards the next great era of human space exploration of the United States,” says NASA.
With this, Trump plans to unite the private sector even more with the US space agency, the same line that Isaacman has mentioned before, while waiting to be approved as administrator, decision that the Senate does not approve yet.
“NASA should move away from the competition with the private sector and, instead, focus your talent and first class infrastructure on the development of the next generation of exploration technologies (including nuclear spacecraft) As a next logical step, ”he said recently.
