Donald Trump wants to write the next chapter in US spaceflight history.

With billionaire tech CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk by his side, he’s outlined an ambitious agenda: to land the first humans on Mars before he leaves office.

Whether or not that goal is achievable, the plan would massively reshape America’s space program to the benefit of Musk’s company.

NASA has already suffered from Musk’s efforts to gut the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency – and key SpaceX officials have been gaining power at the space agency.

Today, Wall Street Journal reporter Emily Glazer, on Elon Musk’s plan to take over NASA.

This episode was originally published in April 2025.

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Guest: Wall Street Journal reporter, Emily Glazer.

Photo: AP Photo/NASA

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Elon Musk is pressing NASA to abandon its planned journeys to the moon – projects that have been decades in the making, with billions already spent and contracts already signed.

Despite backlash from NASA insiders and politicians on both sides of Congress – who view his plans as costly, disruptive and politically toxic – Musk remains resolute.

Today, Wall Street Journal reporter Emily Glazer, on whether the SpaceX CEO can really upend NASA’s return to the moon.

This is part two of a two-part series. It was originally published in April 2025.

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

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Guest: Wall Street Journal reporter, Emily Glazer.

Background Reading: Elon Musk’s Mission to Take Over NASA—and Mars

Photo: AP Photo/NASA

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In the 1990s, a small group of men in Silicon Valley imagined a world without governments or rules – a world run by code. They called themselves the cypherpunks, and they believed technology could replace politics entirely.

Those ideas didn’t stay online. They shaped the culture of the tech industry, which in turn has reshaped Western civilisation itself. Now, the billionaires behind it all are trying to remake democracy in their image.

Today, writer and contributor to The Monthly, Elmo Keep, on how Silicon Valley’s most dangerous philosophy escaped the internet and entered the real world.

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

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Guest: Writer and contributor to The Monthly, Elmo Keep

Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

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