Trump: NASA to launch nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft in 2028

US President Donald Trump announced that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing a nuclear-powered spacecraft designed for interplanetary travel, scheduled to be launched to Mars in 2028. This statement came during a speech delivered by President Trump on Friday at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, following his presentation of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the four American astronauts who comprise the Artemis 2 crew. This honor has been bestowed upon only 30 individuals with exceptional achievements in US history.

Trump stated that NASA “is developing a nuclear-powered spacecraft designed for interplanetary travel, scheduled to launch on a mission to Mars in 2028.” He emphasized that the spacecraft “will be among the first units to ultimately form a massive US space fleet, making space travel as commonplace as ocean travel is today.”

He also announced the creation of the “American Space Academy,” a national educational institution designed to train professionals from various military and civilian sectors to carry out missions that ensure US superiority in this field.

Trump added, “Today I have another historic announcement to make. It is an announcement that fills me with great excitement, given the rapid growth of the space power and the commercial space sector, and the expansion of our ambitions to include the Moon and beyond, across vast distances.”

He expressed his belief that “regions very far away, such as the Moon, may one day be considered as close as the first subway station was viewed in the past; the Moon will become a nearby destination.”

He noted that “it is clear that we will need to educate and train an entire generation of skilled military personnel, engineers, civilian operators, and others to carry out the missions we must accomplish and in which we currently excel and will continue to advance rapidly.”

He stressed that this is “a matter of great importance. Just as we think of West Point, Annapolis, the Air Force Academy, and the Coast Guard Academy—all great institutions—we now have the Space Force, and we will establish the Academy.”