Why Elon Musk Agrees with Trump’s Space Policy

Elon Musk and President Trump have had a complex relationship, with Musk serving on the President’s advisory councils until having to resign over the U.S. pulling out of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Now that Trump is sending America back to the moon, Musk tweeted that he supports the policy shift, pointing out how “it is high time that humanity went beyond Earth” and that “we should have a moon base by now”.

Earlier this week, on the 45 anniversary of the Apollo 17 lunar landing, President Trump directed NASA to send American astronauts back to the moon. Trump signed a policy directive that is short on details but seems to indicate establishing a lunar base, with the eventual goal of using it to go to Mars and “perhaps, someday, to many worlds beyond,” as the President said in his press conference.

Going to Mars, has of course been a key goal for Elon Musk, who has outlined a plethora of plans on how to accomplish just that by 2023.