Elon Musk Calls Out NASA’s Moon Ambitions: ‘We’re Going To Mars’

Even the founder of SpaceX Elon Musk known for his outspoken and controversial comments on his X site, he has been unflappable when it comes to US policy in recent years.

For example, he did not criticize NASA or its overall goal of returning humans to the moon through the Artemis program. In fact, Musk, who has long favored Mars as a human destination, has been a team player when it comes to the lunar concept.

This makes sense from an economic point of view, viz Images of SpaceX they have multi-billion dollar contracts to not only build the Human Landing System as part of the Artemis program but also to provide food, supplies, and other operational services to the Lunar Gateway planned around the moon.

But privately, Musk has been opposed to NASA’s plans, saying that the Artemis Program is moving slowly and relies heavily on contractors who seek expensive contracts and don’t want to deliver results.

Don’t be silent on Policy

In the past 10 days, Musk has begun to release some of his most secret ideas to the public. For example, on Christmas Day. Musk wrote on X“Artemis infrastructure is not very effective, because it is a performance improvement program, not an outcome improvement program. Something new is needed.”

Then on Thursday evening, he added this: “No, we’re going to Mars. The moon is confusing.”

This is a statement that directly contradicts NASA’s plans to send several manned missions to the southern hemisphere at the end of this decade and establish a permanent base for operations there with the Artemis program.

It would be one thing if Musk was just expressing his opinion as a private citizen. But since playing a key role in the election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States last year, Musk has taken some important advice to the incoming administration. He was also responsible for the expected selection of private astronaut Jared Isaacman to be the next administrator of NASA. Although Musk is not directing US space policy, he has an important influence on what happens.

So What Does This Mean for Artemis?

The future of Artemis is an important question not only for NASA, but for US companies, the European Space Agency, and other international organizations that have agreed with the return of people to the moon. With Artemis, the United States is competing with China to establish a meaningful presence on the surface of the moon.

Based on conversations with people involved in the Trump administration’s space policy, I can make some educated guesses about how to interpret Musk’s comments. None of these people, for example, would dispute Musk’s claim that “Artemis’ infrastructure is inadequate” and that further changes are necessary.

With that said, the Artemis program is probably not going away. After all, it was the Trump administration that first created the program nearly five years ago. However, it may not be well-remembered that the first Trump White House pushed for major reforms, including “manage training” at NASA.

“I’m asking NASA to adopt new policies and adopt new ideas,” Vice President Mike Pence said in May 2019. “If our current contractors cannot meet this goal, then we will find those who can.” (Speaking of the vice president, it is unlikely that the National Space Council will be reestablished under JD Vance).