At President Donald Trump’s inauguration, he promised the country his administration would take steps to plant the American flag on Mars. But this is nothing new to the private sector of the space industry; for years, companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Redwire, and others have been actively involved in leading space exploration.

Trump’s goals with NASA build on the direction the space industry has been headed for years. In 2017, the Artemis program launched with the goal of developing a sustainable presence on the moon and eventually making the journey to Mars. The program was a multinational effort, combining the resources of commercial and government partners.