In 2017, Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States. His speech included a program that he intends to implement in the next 4 (or even 8) years as president. No one expected any statements about space, but he still managed to mention a few interesting points.
Trump said:
“We are on the threshold of a new millennium, ready to discover the secrets of the cosmos, free the Earth from suffering and disease, and also use the technologies of tomorrow”.
After being elected, Trump refrained from directly discussing his plans for NASA and the US space policy. Instead, all the work was done by his team and the designated officials at NASA. Based on these statements, we can expect the following:
- The new administration is preparing for a massive push to strengthen military resources in space and promote further militarization of the Earth’s orbit.
- NASA's budget can be cut to expand missions. This will allow the commercial sector to take over operations and research in low-Earth orbit.
- The NASA Earth Science programs needed to study climate are likely to be derailed.
So when Donald Trump says that he wants to “unlock the secrets of the cosmos,” do not think that he has no plans. In fact, there is a plan, it is just not finalized. Experts even believe that Trump’s decisions could harm the US space industry.
The only breakthrough the Trump administration can make is to find aliens. True, if the alien guests once visit our planet, then Donald Trump will be the last person to whom humanity will allow to communicate with them. No offence.
