During his speech after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump promised on Monday that he will take the American flag to the planet Mars, as part of the boost he wants to give to space programs in this country, an idea that Elon Musk applauded with great enthusiasm.
“We will pursue our manifest destiny to the stars, carrying American astronauts to plant our stars and stripes on the planet Mars,” said Trump.
The applause was immediately followed by the leaders accompanying him on the platform, many of whom stood up to give him a standing ovation. The excitement was evident in Elon Musk, who was sitting next to Barron Trump. The founder of SpaceX stood up and shouted ecstatically, looking towards the cameras, while raising his hand with his thumb up in a sign of approval; he clapped enthusiastically and smiled, like few others in the place.
Trump expressed that there is no dream that cannot be achieved and compared it to his own case, emphasizing that many believed he would not be sworn in again as President of the United States.
“At this moment our nation is more ambitious. There is nothing we cannot do and there is no dream that cannot be achieved. Many said it was impossible for me to achieve this historic comeback and now I am here, the American people have spoken,” he said.
In his approximately 30-minute speech, the new leader expressed that "we will be the envy of every nation, we will not let anyone take advantage of us, our sovereignty will be restored, the United States is my priority, of national success, the United States has the opportunity to excel... In America, the impossible is what we do best."
Trip to Mars and divided opinions
El Imparcial reported that there is not majority support among Americans for the idea of sending astronauts to Mars. The mentioned media outlet shared the results of a survey conducted in 2019 by AP-NORC, which showed that 40% of the respondents stated that going to the red planet is "not very" or "not at all" important.
In the survey mentioned, 3 out of 10 adults expressed that exploring Mars is "very" or "extremely important", while a third believed it was "moderately" important.
Why is Elon Musk happy about Trump's goal of going to Mars?
Elon Musk's excitement about Donald Trump's goal of going to Mars is not surprising, as the billionaire is the founder of SpaceX, a space exploration company.
Space travel is one of the great enthusiasms of the owner of Tesla and X as well, who through SpaceX builds rockets and spacecraft, launches satellites, sends crewed missions and cargo resupply to the International Space Station (ISS), and also develops the global telecommunications network Starlink.
Through his company, Musk offers space trips at low costs and greater accessibility.
Will SpaceX have any involvement in the Mars trips promised by Trump? The new president did not specify this point, but the enthusiastic reaction from Elon Musk suggests that it will probably happen.