From a promise to buy Greenland to his threat to 'take back' the Panama Canal, Donald Trump seems to have his sights set on expanding US territory across the world. But during his inauguration speech, Trump also vowed to carry the American flag in a bold new direction.
![[Donald Trump has claimed that it is America's 'manifest destiny' to plant the American flag on Mars as he promises to make the US a country which 'expands its territory']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/15/94438301-14316873-image-a-1_1737647057464.jpg)
Trump claimed that it was America's 'manifest destiny' to 'plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars.'. So, could Mars really become the 51st state?. Unfortunately for Trump, international law is absolutely clear on the matter. According to the most basic laws governing how nations work in outer space, trying to claim Mars as US territory is illegal.
![[With the support of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Trump has laid out an ambitious plan to reach Mars before the end of his four-year term. However, experts say that simply planting a flag on Mars (as mimed here by Mr Musk) isn't enough to claim territory]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/10/94438297-14316873-With_the_support_of_SpaceX_founder_Elon_Musk_Trump_has_laid_out_-a-1_1737712802829.jpg)
Likewise, these same laws mean that any contracts to 'buy' plots of land on the moon or Mars are nothing more than shallow scams. However, that doesn't mean that Trump's dream of a US colony on the Red Planet is over before it starts. As President Donald Trump considers plans for an American colony on Mars, experts reveal whether anyone can really own the Red Planet.
![[The United Nation's Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space created the Outer Space Treaty in 1967 to prevent Russia and America from taking their conflict into space and ensure that no one had the upper hand]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/15/80417951-14316873-The_United_Nation_s_Committee_on_the_Peaceful_Uses_of_Outer_Spac-a-3_1737647086415.jpg)
Donald Trump has claimed that it is America's 'manifest destiny' to plant the American flag on Mars as he promises to make the US a country which 'expands its territory'. In his first address as President of the United States, Trump called on America to become a 'growing nation'.
![[The Outer Space Treaty specifically forbids any nation from claiming a celestial body like Mars as part of its sovereign territory. Any attempt to make a territorial claim would be illegal (file photo)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/15/94438421-14316873-image-a-4_1737647112125.jpg)
In his view that means becoming a country which 'increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons.'. Trump then added: 'And we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.'.
![[Jared Isaacman, who has been picked by Trump to be the next NASA administrator, has voiced his support for a colony on Mars. But even building this colony would not count as making a territorial claim under international law]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/15/94438385-14316873-Jared_Isaacman_who_has_been_picked_by_Trump_to_be_the_next_NASA_-a-15_1737647623482.jpg)
