NASA contemplates a landing on Mars in 2026, after receiving an allocation of one billion dollars in the new budget Proposed by the Trump administration, as confirmed by a spokesman for the agency to EFE on Wednesday.
Without revealing additional details, the spokesman also highlighted the interest of International allies in collaborating with the United States to advance the exploration of the solar system, stressing that these efforts They seek to benefit all humanity.
The budget plan emphasizes investment in innovative spatial technologies and proposes to transfer certain projects to the private sphere, where they could be managed more efficiently.
In this context, Spacex – founded in 2002 by Elon Musk, who continues in front as CEO and technical director – continues to lead the private initiative in spatial development. Your focus on reusable rockets has as a goal radically reduce the costs of travel to space and facilitate the eventual colonization of Mars.
The federal budget, revealed last Friday, introduces a remarkable reconfiguration in NASA’s goals, giving priority to the manned missions towards the moon and the red planet. In addition to the funds for Mars, more than 7,000 million dollars are assigned to future lunar missions.
“We are studying all the possibilities, including launch windows in 2026 and 2028, with the aim of validating technologies that allow us to take humans to Mars,” the agency said in a written statement delivered to EFE.
The project contemplates a parallel strategy to explore both the moon and Mars, while promoting essential scientific and technological researchaccording to Janet Petro, NASA’s interim administrator.
Competition with China and strategic cuts
One of the central objectives is to achieve a new mooning before China and specify the arrival of an American astronaut to Mars. To make it viable, NASA will focus on priority missions and will discontinue programs considered economically unsustainable, including the expensive project of return of Martian samples, says EFE.
In this line, The budget suggests important cuts. Among them, the cancellation of the space launch system (SLS) and the Orion capsule after the Artemis III mission. It is also proposed to close the Gateway program.
The agency plans to move towards a new stage, relying on more efficient commercial technologies for the following lunar missions. In parallel, a reduction in the endowment and scientific operations of the International Space Station (EEI) is anticipated, with the intention of progressively dismantling it and replacing it with commercial platforms by 2030.
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