As Donald Trump prepares to begin his second term, the future of American science and technology is divided and uncertain. The second term could mean sweeping changes for space exploration, computing and climate and environmental sciences. Here’s how.
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00:00As Donald Trump begins his second term, the future of American science and technology
00:08is divided and uncertain.
00:10His second term could mean sweeping changes for space exploration, especially as SpaceX
00:14CEO Elon Musk is part of the administration.
00:18That means more commercial trips to space at the expense of federal ones.
00:22Some experts say NASA's custom-built rocket meant to head to the moon could be the first
00:26on the chopping block, with Trump pushing to use privately built rockets instead.
00:30This could actually speed up the process of an expected moon mission, and even efforts
00:34to visit Mars.
00:35AI and quantum computing might actually get a boon under the Trump administration.
00:39Both President Biden and President Trump have signaled the need for US companies to be competitive
00:44in this regard, meaning they will likely invest heavily and not get in the way of advancement
00:49as American companies continue to compete with China.
00:51Still, environmental and climate science will likely be the hardest hit by a Trump
00:56presidency.
00:57He is likely to roll back regulations and push cuts to research funding, especially
01:01at agencies like the EPA and NASA.
01:04Critics warn this could severely impact efforts to combat climate change, leaving many environmental
01:09scientists worried about the future.