(Washington) The American space agency will prioritize the sending of astronauts to Mars, said Businessman Jared Isaamman, chosen by Donald Trump on Wednesday to take the lead, a major change in American space policy.
Posted at 11:49 a.m.
“We will give priority to sending American astronauts to Mars, and along the way, we will inevitably have the capacity to return to the Moon,” said Jared Isaamman before a commission of senators responsible for confirming this.
This space enthusiast who made a fortune in online payments and stole several times in space on board private missions was questioned by parliamentarians about his vision for NASA, and particularly the future of the famous and costly Lunar Program Artémis.
This project, announced in 2017 under the first term of Donald Trump, must allow the return of American astronauts to the Moon, and more particularly the establishment of a lasting human presence on the star for the preparation of future missions on Mars.
But due to its staggering cost and many delays recorded, several critical votes in the new US government have called for its deep revision or even its cancellation.
An uncertainty reinforced by the words of President Donald Trump who promised to “plant the star banner on the planet Mars” on several occasions since his return to power in January, without mentioning the moon.
But also and above all by its now close proximity to the entrepreneur Elon Musk, for whom the red planet is an obsession. The latter, known for his very optimistic projections, plans to put his rocket there Starship From 2026 and launching missions inhabited in 2028.
An abandonment of the Artémis program, of which many other countries are partners, would be an earthquake for the space sector.
