Space Force’s Mission to Mars is Still a Longshot
- Donald Trump has announced a new branch of the military. Meet Space Force!
- He also wants to return to the moon and has grand ambitions of Mars exploration
- What’s the latest on the new space race?
“I was saying it the other day — ‘cause we’re doing a tremendous amount of work in space — I said, maybe we need a new force. We’ll call it the Space Force.” Donald Trump announced to a crowd of Marines in San Diego. “And I was not really serious. And then I said, what a great idea. Maybe we’ll have to do that.”
And so here we are, seriously considering a sixth branch of the military called the Space Force. Vice President Mike Pence was rolled into the Pentagon to officially unveil the plans, and the Trump administration, never missing a chance to make a quick buck, immediately started selling Space Force merchandise.
The idea of a Space Force ties in with the President’s long-running obsession with Mars. One of the slogans proposed on Trump’s official website, DonaldjTrump.com, is “Mars Awaits.” It doesn’t make sense for the military to have anything to do with Mars, but then again, none of this makes sense.
NASA, which is making a BIG comeback under the Trump Administration, has just named 9 astronauts for Boeing and Spacex space flights. We have the greatest facilities in the world and we are now letting the private sector pay to use them. Exciting things happening. Space Force!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2018
| First Organization to charter humans to Mars | Odds |
|---|---|
| SpaceX | -350 |
| Blue Origin | +400 |
| Boeing | +500 |
| Space Force | +2000 |
While a Space Force mission to Mars is little more than a joke, there are others taking the prospect of reaching the Red Planet very seriously. SpaceX has kept their details mostly under wraps, but it’s safe to say that they’re currently leading the new space race.
SpaceX has kept their details mostly under wraps, but it’s safe to say that they’re currently leading the new space race.
Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, is also gazing into the night sky. The Amazon founder has already monopolized the online marketplace, so now he’s looking to colonize the moon with his spaceflight company, Blue Origin.
Airline giant Boeing is another name to watch. In a recent interview, CEO Dennis Muilenburg stated: “I firmly believe that the first person to step foot on Mars will get there on a Boeing rocket.” Elon Musk fired back with a snappy tweet: “Do it.”
Space Force all the way!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2018
| Will a human set foot on Mars by 2025 | Odds |
|---|---|
| Yes | +275 |
| No | -450 |
Elon Musk originally planned to land an unmanned capsule on Mars by 2018. So his plans to send a human to the Red Planet by 2024 seems a little overly ambitious. All of Musks projects — from Tesla to the Hyperloop to SpaceX — come with lofty goals and the billionaire magnate often falls short of his initial projections.
NASA has been a lot more cautious with their targets. One of their four strategic goals is to “enable human exploration of the Moon as preparation for human missions to Mars and deeper into the solar system,” though they have been careful not to set a self-imposed deadline.
Boeing has thrown its hat into the ring, but has yet to make any real progress or set any definite goals when is comes to setting foot on Mars.
America will THINK BIG once again. We will inspire millions of children to carry on the proud tradition of American space leadership! pic.twitter.com/mmqQs93l9F
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2017
Don Aguero is a man of many talents, writing about nearly anything you can put odds to. Don has been writing for SportsBettingDime since 2015, covering sports, entertainment and politics. You name it, he's covered it! He is also a steadfast West Ham fan, and has learned to embrace that suffering.
