In his inauguration speech last month, President Trump said America is entering a new “Golden Age.” He reminded us that Americans are “explorers, builders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneers” and challengeed us to “pursue our manifest destiny into the stars,” and plant our flag on the surface of Mars.
Trump can deliver a revival of the pioneer spirit by following in the footsteps of John F. Kennedy and setting a goal of establishing a robotic colony on Mars within the next decade. We should choose to go to Mars and do the hard things, “not because they are easy but because they are hard.”
Kennedy entered office in 1961 when the country was bitterly divided and global power was reorganizing. The U.S. was fighting a two-front war: one hot in Vietnam and the other cold with the Russians. Kennedy exuded American exceptionalism and set the nation on a “New Frontier,” focusing on space exploration, civil rights, economic reforms and global diplomacy. He inspired us to be great, and America rose to the challenge.
Taking up the call was his vice president, Lyndon Johnson, who was named chairman of the Space Council. As Douglas Brinkley wrote in his book “American Moonshot,” Johnson “championed NASA as a potential bonanza of tech-driven wealth for numerous states.” He played the inside game of pork and patronage that lubricates the wheels of government. At the same time, Kennedy inspired the American people to become “stakeholders in the grand drama” and “partners in the adventure.”
The Kennedy Moonshot inspired Americans to believe their government was still great, but it also served as a new battlefield for the Cold War, moving the competition outside a warzone and turning the spillover into economic growth. The resulting technological advancement in electronics, medicine, energy, communication and robotics would lead to the creation of personal computers, GPS, MRI and CAT scans, cellphones and solar power.
The gains offset the economic costs of exploration, “increasing real GDP by 2.2 percent after 20 years” and beating the Russians to the moon, setting the stage for détente.
Today, as when Kennedy entered office, the country is bitterly divided while global power is reorganizing. We are in a race for technological superiority, building the infrastructure and competing for resources. This is a time for bold action and strong leadership.
Trump is a passionate leader. Tapping into his passion and using his bully pulpit can propel us into this new “Golden Age.” He should task Vice President JD Vance to lead the Moonshot. Vance, like Johnson before him, should spread out the contracts and jobs, uniting our shared interests of safety and opportunity. We chose the tech lifestyle, which requires more power, and now we have to secure the resources and stabilize our future.
Landing on Mars and establishing a robotic colony will require government investment and private partnerships. It will not be easy — but neither was going to the moon.
The Saturn V rocket that carried our astronauts was the brainchild of former Nazi scientist Wernher von Braun. The rocket technology originated from the V-2 missile developed for the Nazis, but after the war, the U.S. granted von Braun amnesty as part of Operation Paperclip. In the U.S., von Braun worked with a team at NASA and transformed the weapon of war into a tool for peaceful exploration. It took years of trial and error, tragedy and heartbreak before von Braun and his team worked out the bugs and delivered the Saturn V to the moon.
Private institutions like SpaceX and Blue Origin are already racing to Mars. SpaceX founder Elon Musk is predicting trips to Mars by 2028. Like von Braun and his team, Elon and the SpaceX team have transformed their innovative, cost-effective Falcon 1 into the Falcon 9, which powered the first-ever private spacecraft to dock with the ISS. The goal is to create a fully reusable Starship, with both the rocket and the spacecraft capable of landing and being reused many times. The innovative design will make interplanetary travel more affordable and sustainable.
The American experiment in representative government has thrived because of a strategic partnership between private and public institutions. Building transportation, communication and industry networks has expanded opportunities and secured safety. A strategic partnership between the tech industry and the government would lead to a new era of Manifest Destiny.
A reusable Starship could supply a robotic colony working in the harsh Martian environment, conducting research on the Martian core, testing battery development and mining for resources. The colony could send back valuable resources while setting the stage for human inhabitance.
A robotic colony on Mars might seem like far-fetched science fiction, but so was the Moonshot. Private institutions like SpaceX and Blue Origin have laid the foundation for success. A mission to Mars could capture the positive attention of the American people and the world. American Exceptionalism will rise again; we are ready for the challenge.
Jeff Mayhugh is the founding editor of Politics and Parenting and vice president at No Cap Fund.
