Elon Musk‘s dream of sending humans to Mars might receive a substantial boost following Donald Trump’s recent presidential victory. The new administration is reportedly planning to prioritize Mars missions, potentially shifting NASA’s current focus from the moon to the Red Planet.

What Happened: Sources suggest that the Trump administration may alter NASA’s Artemis program, which currently uses SpaceX‘s Starship for lunar missions as a stepping stone to Mars. This shift could pave the way for uncrewed Mars missions within the decade, as per four individuals familiar with Trump’s evolving space policy, Reuters reported on Friday.

In a gesture of support, Musk attended a Trump rally wearing an “Occupy Mars” T-shirt and contributed $119 million to Trump’s campaign. Trump, who initiated the Artemis program in 2019, has expressed intentions to revamp it, aiming for a more ambitious Mars plan.

SpaceX, Musk, and the Trump campaign have not yet commented on these developments. Meanwhile, NASA refrained from speculating on potential changes under the new administration. As Trump’s transition team forms, plans could still evolve, according to sources.

Why It Matters: Musk has set a target for human colonization of Mars by 2030, despite skepticism from experts about the feasibility of this timeline. Musk’s plan involves launching uncrewed Starship rockets to Mars by 2026, with crewed missions potentially following two to four years later.

In a recent interview, Musk emphasized the engineering success of the Starship and outlined a bold timeline for sending it to Mars within two years. However, he warned that regulatory challenges could delay these plans, as obtaining launch permits often takes longer than building the rockets themselves.

The next Mars launch window is approximately 26 to 27 months away, aligning with SpaceX’s timeline for uncrewed missions, with human missions possibly following two years later.

Image via Shutterstock

This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari