Trump declares 'American space superiority for all eternity' in election night proclamation

On election night, President Trump declared American dominance in space for all time in a proclamation titled the American Declaration of Freedom in Space. Space was declared the common domain of all humans, and the U.S. vowed to guide humanity's expansion across the cosmos. While the proclamation didn't bring new funding or policy directives, it reaffirmed goals for NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon by 2028 and eventually to Mars.

Trump invoked the spirit of American pioneers, citing Apollo 11 astronauts and Mars rovers as proof of U.S. leadership. He emphasized the thriving commercial space sector, asserting that this would ensure "American space superiority for all eternity." The document stresses America's commitment to an interplanetary civilization built on freedom and individual liberty.

The proclamation highlighted the success of NASA's Artemis II mission in April, which saw four astronauts journey around the moon, setting a record for the farthest humans have ever been from Earth. The upcoming Artemis III mission is scheduled to launch next summer, testing rendezvous and docking operations in low Earth orbit. Artemis IV, the program's first lunar landing mission, is slated for 2028.

An executive order in December 2025 reaffirmed the goal of meeting the 2028 moon landing timeline and deploying the first elements for a permanent lunar base by 2030. However, Trump's declaration didn't create new NASA programs or allocate extra funding. Its language echoed principles from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which guarantees freedom of exploration but prohibits claims of national sovereignty over other planets.