EXCLUSIVE — A new bill is seeking to improve infrastructure that would support space missions to bring humans to Mars, a top focus of President Donald Trump‘s senior adviser, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) on Tuesday introduced the Mission to Modernize Astronautic Resources for Space Act, which would improve and modernize the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center’s infrastructure.
“Throughout history, America has pioneered human space exploration and boldly charted the path into the great unknown,” Cornyn said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “I am proud to lead this legislation to not only send humans back to the moon, but to the next frontier of Mars, where technological advancements and untold scientific discoveries await.”
The bill seeks to make a laundry list of updates to the Johnson Space Center, located in Houston, such as preparing the Neutral Buoyancy Lab for commercial space training and making repairs on the Astromaterials Curation and Research facility to collect and study samples from the moon and Mars.
Cornyn’s introduction of the MARS Act comes after Trump proposed a budget blueprint that would allocate $1 billion to fund “Mars-focused programs,” despite seeking to reduce NASA’s spending by 24.3%.
“The Budget refocuses National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) funding on beating China back to the Moon and on putting the first human on Mars,” the budget request reads.
During his joint address to Congress in March, Trump called for the United States to “lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond.”
Musk, the de facto leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, has made Mars colonization a goal of his for years.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) wants to make Texas, Cornyn’s state and the site of SpaceX’s new city, Starbase, a stronghold for space travel operations, establishing the Texas Space Commission in March 2024.
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A spokesperson for Cornyn told the Washington Examiner that investments in Mars space travel are critical for securing national security during the space race with China, which spends the second-most globally after the U.S. on space exploration.
“By staying one step ahead of this adversary in our missions to the moon and Mars, this legislation would help reinforce America’s standing as the preeminent global power in space,” Cornyn’s spokesperson said.