White House proposes $1 billion Mars push as NASA budget faces major cuts

US President Donald Trump aims to accelerate human missions to Mars by leveraging the private sector, a plan closely aligned with Elon Musk’s ambitious vision for the Red Planet.

The White House unveiled its 2026 budget proposal on May 30, outlining a request of over $1 billion dedicated to Mars exploration, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Central to this plan is a new NASA initiative called the Commercial Mars Payload Services Program (CMPS), which would award contracts to private companies to develop key technologies such as spacesuits, communication systems, and human-rated landing vehicles — all designed to advance Mars exploration.

Trump’s overall NASA budget request for 2026 totals $18.8 billion, representing a nearly 25% cut from the previous year, with significant reductions hitting the agency’s science programs. This detailed proposal builds on a preliminary budget outline released earlier this month.

“We must continue to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars,” NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro wrote in a letter included in the budget request. “That means making strategic decisions — including scaling back or discontinuing ineffective efforts.”

The CMPS initiative draws inspiration from NASA’s existing Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which has supported companies like Intuitive Machines LLC, Firefly Aerospace Inc., and Astrobotic Technology Inc. Though the lunar program has seen mixed success, it serves as a model for encouraging private sector involvement.

The budget documents reveal that Mars lander contracts would expand on current agreements. SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, is already developing a version of its Starship rocket designed to ferry astronauts to the moon under NASA’s Artemis program. Musk recently shared a grand vision for a sprawling Mars settlement during an internal SpaceX meeting.

Jared Isaacman, Trump’s nominee to lead NASA and a tech billionaire, told lawmakers that NASA could pursue lunar and Martian missions simultaneously.

The administration’s budget cuts, particularly those affecting NASA’s science division, have drawn criticism from space experts and lawmakers alike, including former Republican Congressmen Newt Gingrich and Bob Walker. Even Isaacman acknowledged that the proposed science reductions were not “optimal.”

Additionally, the administration announced plans to phase out NASA’s Boeing-built Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Lockheed Martin’s Orion crew capsule after only three flights, despite years of development invested in those programs.

In their place, the budget promotes a new strategy focused on private-sector-led missions back to the moon, aimed at lowering costs and reducing scheduling risks. This approach would mirror NASA’s prior commercial programs, which helped spur the development of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft.

However, this budget proposal faces potential pushback from seasoned members of Congress, including Texas Republicans Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Brian Babin, who have been vocal defenders of NASA’s existing lunar plans.

By Tamilla Hasanova