Trump Administration Status: White House text; Axios analysis

Trump Signs 'American Declaration of Freedom in Space' on Election Night

By AFNS Research Desk · November 5, 2026 · 1 min read

NASA Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft on Launch Pad 39B at sunrise (file image, 2026) — Photo: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Summary

President Trump signed a Nov. 3 proclamation declaring outer space open to exploration, development and a permanent presence by American citizens, consistent with U.S. law and international obligations. Axios calls the edict largely symbolic and notes an expert called the 2028 lunar return goal wildly optimistic.

Trump signed The American Declaration of Freedom in Space on Nov. 3 (White House)
It proclaims outer space open to exploration, development, use and a permanent presence by American citizens consistent with U.S. law and international obligations (White House)
Axios describes the proclamation as mostly symbolic and says it appears to stay in line with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and the Artemis Accords
Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation called the 2028 lunar timeline wildly optimistic (Axios)

Status: White House proclamation; Axios analysis.

On election night, Nov. 3, President Trump signed The American Declaration of Freedom in Space. The proclamation says "the solar system and all of outer space beyond Earth are the province of all humans" and are "open to exploration, development, use, and the establishment of a permanent presence by American citizens consistent with United States law and the international obligations of the United States."

It reaffirms goals of returning to the Moon by 2028, laying a foundation for a permanent American lunar presence and eventually landing an American on Mars.

Largely symbolic, Axios says

Axios describes the edict as mostly symbolic. It says the language appears to stay in line with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty's ban on national appropriation and with the Artemis Accords. Axios notes China's reported goal of a lunar landing before 2030. Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation told Axios the 2028 lunar return target is "wildly optimistic." The White House did not immediately respond to Axios.