Elon Musk's Dream of NASA Going to Mars Instead of the Moon May be Rejected by Congress — 'Learn to Walk Before You Run'
Musk has big Mars dreams that may get dashed by those in charge.
Jan. 13 2025, Published 2:00 p.m. ET
Elon Musk really wants NASA to go to Mars... but his mission may be killed before it's ever launched.
Both Republicans and Democrats agree the focus is on America landing on the moon in 2027 despite the Tesla billionaire making it clear he wants to drop in on the red planet, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Musk has been open about his desire to put humans on Mars in the future.
Earlier this month, Musk took to X and wrote: "We’re going straight to Mars. The moon is a distraction. Mass to orbit is the key metric, thereafter mass to Mars surface. The former needs to be in the megaton to orbit per year range to build a self-sustaining colony on Mars."
At the time, his followers reacted with both support and pushback as one person wrote: "You need to rethink this. Chances of successful colonies on the moon are much greater than on Mars."
Another disagreed and added: "Elon is our only hope to take us to Mars."
NASA's focus remains on the moon, however.
However, those pulling the strings for NASA are still all about the moon.
“To bypass the moon would be a mistake,” Texas Rep. Brian Babin recently said. Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Kelly agreed and said: “We have put a lot of time, effort and money into Artemis, and I think we should allow NASA to complete that mission."
Outgoing NASA Administrator Bill Nelson simply said: “You’ve got to learn to walk before you run.”
The Mars mission is unlikely to reel in much support on Capitol Hill. Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, claimed there “would be a lot of congressional resistance" when it comes to flying out to the planet.
A focus to Mars would also impact many moon-focused programs as well as jobs. A trip to the planet would also take three years round-trip wile it is just three days to the moon.
President-elect Donald Trump, just a few days before officially being sworn in, has yet to touch on his ally Musk's Mars hopes. During his first term, Trump did publicly announce his interest in returning to the moon.
The controversial billionaire wants to send a crewed spacecraft to the red planet in four years
Musk, 53, has had a Mars fascination for some time, as in September 2024 he announced his plan to send an un-crewed spaceship in two years to make humanity a "multi-planet species."
He added he would like to send a crewed spacecraft to the planet in four years before "building a self-sustaining city" on Mars "in about 20 years."
However, that may not be the best idea according to biologist Scott Solomon, who said any plan of colonizing Mars could "kill humanity" and create "green-skinned Martian kids with brittle bones and weak eyes."
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President-elect Donald Trump has yet to pick a side when it comes to the current Mars and the moon discussion.
According to Solomon, humans colonizing Mars would endure living conditions "so brutal" they could prompt a change in skin color and result in a loss of eyesight.
He also predicted children of Mars settlers would undergo drastic evolutionary changes, mutate and develop "brittle bones," "weaker muscles," and a "freakishly green coloring."
In his book Future Humans, claimed the lack of a protective ozone layer would leave any settlers impacted by space radiation and UV light which, as a result, would lead to more mutations.
