Trump issues space proclamation without new funding or programs

President Trump issued a space proclamation on November 3, 2026, called the American Declaration of Freedom in Space. It describes space as a province of all humans and pledges U.S. leadership in exploring, developing, using and settling new frontiers. The measure adds no new funding, programs or policy directives.

The declaration says American citizens have the right to develop and settle the solar system under U.S. laws. It says the U.S. will lead humanity's expansion into the cosmos and will carry faith, freedom and individual liberty into an interplanetary civilization.

The proclamation creates no new NASA programs, provides no additional funding and issues no instructions to federal agencies. It echoes principles from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which protects the freedom to explore and bars national sovereignty claims on other planets.

The proclamation restates the administration's objectives for NASA's Artemis program: bring U.S. astronauts back to the Moon and later send them to Mars. Artemis II succeeded in April 2026 as a 10-day flight with 4 astronauts that set a record for the greatest distance humans have traveled from Earth.

Apollo 11's crew were the first humans to walk on the Moon, and robotic rovers exploring Mars are examples of U.S. leadership. The U.S. commercial space sector helps secure American superiority in space indefinitely.

The proclamation adds no new funding, programs or policy directives, so the industry relevance is the restated Artemis goals, the commercial sector's role and the planned deployment of initial lunar outpost elements.

Artemis III is listed as the follow-up to Artemis II and is scheduled to launch in 2027. The mission will use NASA's Orion spacecraft in low Earth orbit to test rendezvous and docking operations, and its payload includes two commercial lunar landers.

Artemis IV is described as the first lunar landing mission, with a landing date in 2028.

A December 2025 executive order reaffirmed the goal of deploying the initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030.