A copy of the preliminary insider report on the Trump administration claims that the current US president has offered the acting head of NASA unlimited funding if he can send people to the Red Planet before the end of his first term.
Months after taking office, Donald Trump reportedly asked NASA's acting acting chief if the Space Agency could send a manned mission to Mars before the end of his first term. In return, he allegedly offered unlimited funding.
“What if I gave you all the money you need to do this? - Presumably, Trump asked then. - What if we unrealistically increased the NASA budget, but focused only on this, instead of whatever you are doing now. Would it work then?"
These words are quoted in a copy of Team of Vipers - a report on the Trump administration from former White House aide Cliff Sims - obtained by New York Magazine.
According to the publication, Trump offered the money to the Space Agency on April 24, 2017, moments before the call to the International Space Station, organized so that the president could congratulate astronaut Peggy Winston on the record for the longest stay in space among Americans.
As Sims and others from the agency, including acting NASA chief Robert Lightfoot Jr., brought Trump up to date, he began to get distracted and suddenly asked Lightfoot:
"What are your plans for Mars?"
According to the report, Lightfoot tried to explain to the president that a mission to the Red Planet requires incredible preparation, and according to NASA's timetable, sending a man to Mars is tentatively scheduled for the 2030s.
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The aforementioned report claims that Trump then became upset and offered Lightfoot a deal: unlimited funding in return for a very tight deadline.
Lightfoot apologized but said he felt it was hardly possible, leaving Trump "visibly disappointed." However, according to Sims, after a few minutes, the president cheered up, preparing for the call in front of the mirror.
The space station, he told his reflection, is your president.
Vladimir Guillen