NASA is considering launching missions to Mars as early as next year in an effort to expedite its plan to land astronauts on the Red Planet. The surprise shift of focus comes less than a week after the U.S. administration released its proposed budget for the agency, which emphasizes the national goal of landing a human on Mars.

NASA is considering launching rockets to Mars next year, a major shift in priorities that could boost the fortunes of Elon Musk’s space company and speed up the timeline for astronauts to reach the red planet.