"To bypass the Moon would be a mistake."Distract, Divert, DefundCongress is none too pleased after SpaceX CEO and unelected official Elon Musk declared that the "Moon is a distraction" and that NASA should instead be going "straight to Mars."AsPolitico reports, lawmakers who control NASA's budget are prepared to fight back against Musk's apparent plan to kibosh the space agency's forthcoming lunar landing in favor of his long-running Martian dreams.Though Musk previously criticized the lunar mission as a "jobs-maximizing program, not a results-maximizing program," the soon-to-be head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) hasn't mentioned specifically that Artemis is massively over-budget and behind schedule to boot.Mark Kelly, a former astronaut who was briefly considered a contender for the Democratic vice presidential nod, suggested that investment continues to make the program worthwhile."We have put a lot of time, effort, and money into Artemis," the Arizona representative told the magazine, "and I think we should allow NASA to complete that mission."Rep. Brian Babin, a Texas Republican who leads the House's space committee, agreed from across the aisle."To bypass the Moon would be a mistake," Babin reckoned in an interview withPolitico.Curious SilenceThus far, president-elect Donald Trump hasn't joined the fray over NASA's Moon mission, which launched its first uncrewed craft in 2022 and is slated to put human boots on lunar soil this decade for the first time in more 50 years.After pushing NASA to get back to the Moon by 2024 during his first presidency, Trump hasshown interest in the space agency going to Mars since kindling his on-off bromance with Musk.Given the real estate mogul's propensity to agree with either whoever spoke to him most recently or whoever fawns over him the most, there's little doubt that Musk could sway the president-elect to go forth with his Martian pet project over the costly lunar mission.Should that be the case, however, Congress won't likely go down without a fight."There would be a lot of congressional resistance," Casey Drier, the head of space policy at the nonprofit Planetary Society, told Politico.Never one to back down from a battle, Musk has, asPolitico notes, threatened to primary any Republicans who oppose Trump's cabinet nominations and there's no reason he couldn't exert similar pressure on his Mars-over-Moon agenda.More on Musk's politicking: MAGA Figures Turn on Elon Musk for Not Hating Immigrants EnoughShare This Article