Trump seeks 1,000 US space launches a year by 2030

US President Donald Trump pledged to expand US space launches and reentries, with a White House policy aiming for more than 1,000 launches and reentries on US soil every year by 2030.

In a memorandum published on Aug. 20, Trump called on NASA to facilitate commercial transportation to and from the Moon, support commercial robotic access to Mars and explore commercial ways to send humans to and from Mars.

The White House said the policy aims to “reinvigorate America's leadership in space transportation.” Trump also encouraged private investment in US space exploration and called on the government to identify additional sites to launch and land spacecraft.

The United States is competing with China to land astronauts on the Moon before 2030. NASA is already seeking to create a lunar surface base and plans in 2027 to test an in-orbit rendezvous between its spacecraft and at least one lunar lander.

Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin are developing rival lunar landers. Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with the goal of sending humans to Mars and establishing colonies there.