Mars Is Still a Priority Under Trump
The president-elect seems to favor a strong human spaceflight program—but monitoring our own planet from space is likely not on his agenda.
Recently, it seemed as though support for space exploration, both human and robotic, was reaching a crescendo.
Last year’s Pluto flyby, a new mission to Jupiter, and a planned mission to the icy moon Europa showcased NASA’s commitment to exploring deep space, while major announcements from President Obama and Elon Musk made it sound like efforts to send humans to Mars might finally escape the realm of science fiction. All this activity fueled an optimistic view that exploring space may once again be a national priority.
But under President-elect Donald Trump, might all of that energy come to a hood-buckling, airbag-deploying halt?
There’s a good chance the answer is no.
“Space is the frontier on which American aspiration
