Trump Proclaims 'American Declaration of Freedom in Space'

"Our Nation will lead the way in the exploration, development, use, and settlement of these new frontiers — forging an interplanetary civilization founded on the enduring and inalienable rights of freedom and individual liberty," the text says. It adds that "the nation that leads in space will shape the future of humanity."

Frontier spirit and Artemis

The proclamation invokes America's "frontier spirit," citing the Apollo 11 astronauts as the first people to walk on the moon and robotic rovers on Mars as examples of U.S. leadership. It also points to the thriving commercial space sector as a way to secure "American space superiority for all eternity."

It highlights the success of NASA's Artemis II mission in April, which carried four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the moon and set a record for the farthest humans have traveled from Earth. Artemis III is scheduled to launch next summer, in 2027. It will test rendezvous and docking between the Orion spacecraft and the program's two commercial lunar landers in low Earth orbit.

Artemis IV, the first landing mission, is targeted for 2028. A December 2025 executive order from the President reaffirmed that timeline, along with the goal of deploying the initial elements of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030.

Echoes of the Outer Space Treaty

The declaration does not create NASA programs, allocate money or instruct federal agencies. Its broad language does echo principles of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which guarantees freedom of exploration while prohibiting national sovereignty claims on other planets.