Elon Musk thinks we should start moving on from the International Space Station (ISS).
“It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the @Space_Station. It has served its purpose. There is very little incremental utility. Let’s go to Mars,” the SpaceX chief and close Trump adviser said via X today (Feb. 20).
In another X post, he laid out his preferred timeline: “The decision is up to the President, but my recommendation is as soon as possible. I recommend 2 years from now.”
NASA and its partners on the ISS project — the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos — began building the orbiting lab in 1998. It has hosted rotating astronaut crews continuously since November 2000, helping humanity learn to live in space so we’ll be better equipped to put down roots on the moon and Mars.
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The end is already in sight for the outpost, which has been showing signs of its advanced age. The partners plan to bring the station down in a controlled fashion in 2030, using a deorbit vehicle provided by SpaceX.
All but one of the ISS partners are on board with this timeline; Russia has repeatedly said that it wants to leave the ISS program early and is currently committed only through 2028 — a year after Musk would like to bring the orbiting lab down.
It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the @Space_Station. It has served its purpose. There is very little incremental utility. Let’s go to Mars.February 20, 2025
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Musk’s thoughts on this subject should not be dismissed as idle musings, as he appears to have Trump’s ear on numerous issues. For example, Musk is currently leading a broad audit of the federal government via an advisory group called the Department of Government Efficiency. This audit has resulted in thousands of layoffs to date across multiple agencies, with many more cuts expected in the near future.
And Musk’s focus on Mars as the next destination for humanity after low Earth orbit should come as no surprise; the billionaire has long had the Red Planet in his sights. In a December X post, for example, he dismissed the moon as “a distraction,” saying that “we’re going straight to Mars.”
That’s not NASA’s plan at the moment, however. The agency is working to get astronauts to the moon via its Artemis program, viewing Earth’s nearest neighbor as a stepping stone to the Red Planet.
“NASA’s current mission plans call for using the International Space Station, and future commercial space stations, in low Earth orbit to conduct groundbreaking science, as well as a training ground for crewed missions to the moon and Mars,” agency officials said in an emailed statement this afternoon. “We’re looking forward to hearing more about the Trump Administration’s plans for our agency and expanding exploration for the benefit of all.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 5:40 pm ET to include NASA’s statement.
