NASA will send a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars by 2028, Trump announces

President Donald Trump has announced that NASA will launch its first nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars within the next two years, while also outlining plans to return American astronauts to the moon and establish a permanent presence on the lunar surface.

Speaking at the UP Summit at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Trump highlighted the mission as part of his administration's broader ambitions to expand America's presence beyond Earth.

"Within the next two years, NASA will launch the first-ever nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars," Trump said.

The president described the mission as a step toward eventually sending American astronauts to the planet, saying, "We're going to be paving the way for astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the red planet."

The planned mission comes as NASA's Artemis program aims to establish a long-term human presence on the moon before eventually sending astronauts to Mars.

Earlier this year, astronauts completed a lunar flyby during the Artemis II mission. Artemis III is scheduled to test spacecraft and landing systems in Earth orbit in 2027, while Artemis IV is expected to attempt a lunar landing in early 2028, before the end of Trump's presidential term.

Trump also said the United States "will establish a permanent presence on lunar soil."

The president pointed to his recently issued American Declaration of Freedom in Space, which asserts the right of Americans to explore and settle beyond Earth under U.S. law.

"Just this week, I issued the American Declaration of Freedom in Space, proclaiming all of space opened for American settlement, American civilization and American freedom," Trump said.

Before introducing the president, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman also discussed the agency's Mars ambitions and long-term goals.

At NASA's Max Power event at the Kennedy Space Center on 6 November, Isaacman presented President Trump with a plaque while astronauts greeted him.

"We are going to venture farther into the solar system and move closer to that next giant leap," Isaacman said.

He described the administration's ultimate goal as the day "American astronauts plant the Stars and Stripes on Mars."

The administration has previously outlined broader space ambitions, including plans for a U.S. Space Academy, which Trump announced in August. The proposed institution would train students for careers in the Space Force, NASA and the civilian spaceflight industry.

Trump summed up his broader vision by saying, "Our calling is to explore. Our purpose is to build, and our aim is always to win."