President Donald Trump said NASA will launch its first nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars within the next two years, part of a renewed push by his administration to extend American spaceflight toward the Red Planet.
Trump made the announcement at the UP Summit at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, framing the mission as a precursor to landing American astronauts on Mars.
“Within the next two years, NASA will launch the first ever nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars,” Trump said.
He cast the effort as groundwork for a future crewed landing. “We’re going to be paving the way for astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the Red planet,” he said.
Artemis Timeline Still in Motion
The Mars announcement comes alongside NASA’s ongoing Artemis program, which is working toward a sustained human presence on the moon before any Mars landing. Astronauts completed a lunar flyby earlier this year as part of Artemis II. Artemis III is set to test spacecraft and landing systems in Earth orbit in 2027, and Artemis IV is expected to attempt an actual lunar landing in early 2028 — before Trump’s term ends.
Trump also reiterated plans to keep Americans on the moon long-term, saying the U.S. “will establish a permanent presence on lunar soil.”
A Declaration for Space Settlement
The president referenced his recently signed “American Declaration of Freedom in Space,” which asserts that Americans have the right under U.S. law to explore and settle beyond Earth.
“Just this week, I issued the American Declaration of Freedom in Space, proclaiming all of space opened for American settlement, American civilization, and American freedom,” Trump said.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who spoke before introducing Trump, echoed the agency’s long-term ambitions for Mars.
“We are going to venture farther into the solar system and move closer to that next giant leap,” Isaacman said.
Isaacman described the ultimate goal as the moment “American astronauts plant the Stars and Stripes on Mars.”
The administration has floated other space initiatives in recent months, including a proposed U.S. Space Academy announced in August that would train students for careers at the Space Force, NASA and private spaceflight companies.
Trump closed his remarks with a broader statement of purpose for the nation’s space program: “Our calling is to explore. Our purpose is to build, and our aim is always to win.”
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