The recent victory of Donald Trump has generated speculation concerning the fate of the SLS, NASA’s Space Launch System, otherwise the backbone of its Artemis program in restoring a manned presence to the moon for the first time since 1972. The SLS might be axed-under the argument that it is redundant-casting doubt on the direction U.S. space exploration could take.
The SLS is scheduled to send four astronauts to lunar orbit in NASA’s Orion crew capsule as part of the Artemis III mission. In lunar orbit, Orion will then be joined by SpaceX’s Starship, carrying two astronauts down to the surface of the Moon. Space journalist Eric Berger was saying recently there may yet be a “50-50” chance it will be axed.
That speculation is in line with views that the Trump administration might chop NASA’s budget and farm out work to private companies. A question remains: could another rocket replace the SLS? China has promised to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030, and conservative timelines put that maybe without major delays.
The Starship may also be a contender from SpaceX, although it has yet to make key milestones, such as an uncrewed lunar landing. Meanwhile, the Artemis program was delayed, and the timeline for the first lunar landing was pushed to autumn 2026.
While these problems persist, the SLS has proven capability, performing well on the Artemis I mission. The rocket remains the only vehicle believed to be capable of launching Orion and its crew directly to the Moon on a single mission. With increasing political and financial scrutiny, America’s space exploration beyond Earth orbit may depend on how the administration can balance cost-cutting measures with national ambitions in space.
