Robert Zubrin highlights the current pivotal moment in the pursuit of Mars exploration, marked by strong governmental backing and the influence of Elon Musk's SpaceX. He reflects on the historical promises for Mars missions that have often been obstructed by political changes. Although Zubrin believes there’s potential for initiating a humans-to-Mars program, he insists that widespread bipartisan support is essential for long-term success, cautioning against the risk of the initiative becoming a partisan issue tied solely to Musk.
This is quite a singular moment for the prospects of getting to Mars... I think it actually is pretty clear right now that we're going to get a humans-to-Mars program started.
If this is understood to be an Elon Musk hobbyhorse, it’s not going to work... any such plan would need broad political support.
In his inaugural address in January, President Trump got the attention of the space community when he said the United States would 'pursue our manifest destiny into the stars'.
Over the decades, administrations have promised future missions to Mars, but never before has a president had such a close relationship with a would-be Mars colonizer.
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