Trump Renews Support for Humans on Mars, Golden Dome

In his first address to a joint session of Congress of his second term in office, President Trump reiterated his support for sending humans to Mars. As in his inaugural address there were no specifics about how or when. He also again called for creating a “Golden Dome” missile defense shield, the new name for what he earlier called the “Iron Dome for America.”

In what reportedly was the longest address to a joint session of Congress by anyone, about an hour and 40 minutes, Trump waited until close to the end to mention the space program.

He first included the American astronauts who “touched the Moon” as one of many examples of those who “defied the odds, transcended all the dangers, made the most extraordinary sacrifices” for the country.  He went on to say now “it is our turn to take America’s destiny into our own hands and begin the most thrilling days in the history of our country” and turned to the future.

“We are going to conquer the vast frontiers of science, and we’re going to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond.”

With his close confidant Elon Musk standing close by, Trump first expressed a commitment to human exploration of Mars during his inaugural address on January 20.

Musk is renowned for his passion to create a multi-planet species by sending millions of people to Mars. The Starship space transportation system he’s building is designed to accomplish that goal. He wants to send five uncrewed Starships to Mars next year and, if they are successful, humans in 2028. Musk was at Trump’s speech tonight, too. Musk’s timing is considered unrealistic not only because of the human safety and technological challenges, but cost.

As for the Golden Dome missile defense system, Trump vowed tonight to build “the most powerful military of the future.”

“As a first step, I’m asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art Golden Dome shield to protect our homeland. All made in the USA. Ronald Reagan wanted to do it long ago, but the technology wasn’t there, not even close. But now we have the technology. It’s incredible, actually. And other places have it. Israel has it, other places have it, and the United States should have it too.”

He issued an Executive Order on January 27 giving the Secretary of Defense 60 days to come up with a “reference architecture, capabilities-based requirements, and an implementation plan for the next generation missile defense shield,” an Iron Dome for America, that includes space-based interceptors and other space-based components. As with the Mars goal, building a missile defense shield similar to Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative is expected to be very costly and even though technology has advanced significantly since the 1980s, building space-based weapon systems that are guaranteed to work the instant they are needed years after launch will still be extremely difficult.

The name “Iron Dome” was replaced by “Golden Dome” reportedly to reduce confusion with Israel’s missile defense system. Israel’s Iron Dome is only a ground-based system, not to mention that Israel is a tiny country compared to the United States.

Trump’s speech is being called a State of the Union (SOTU) address although officially SOTUs are given after a president has been in office for about a year. Trump has been in office for only 6 weeks.  Reagan reportedly began the practice of giving a speech shortly after taking office and presidents have followed suit since then. For all intents and purposes, they are SOTUs.