What Trump's second term means for space and why one expert is 'hugely optimistic'

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

68% : Space industry experts told Business Insider that Musk's influence over Trump could help advance his business interests, including sending the first crewed mission to Mars.
61% : Weeks after Musk endorsed Trump, the president-elect told reporters that the moon was the first step toward his ultimate goal to reach Mars.
59% : In his election-night victory speech, Trump praised Musk for SpaceX's Starship vehicle, designed to shuttle the first humans to Mars, and for the company's Starlink internet satellites, which are designed to offer fast, cheap internet to remote locations worldwide.
58% : The moon, on the other hand, is more achievable, and Trump has had his eye on it.
46% : "I think Elon Musk will be more likely in the background, whispering in his ear," Sivas said of the billionaire's relationship with Trump.
36% : There's no indication that Trump is considering this, but if he wants a faster moon landing, he could ditch the NASA hardware and send astronauts aboard Starship alone, Nield said.
32% : Whether that influence translates to Trump founding a new "department of government efficiency" for Musk, though, is unclear.
31% : Trump has said that he would cut 10 regulations for every new one his administration creates.
31% : "There is a lot of waste and needless regulation in government that needs to go," Musk wrote on X after Trump announced that he planned to put the billionaire at the helm of a new "department of government efficiency.

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