Elon Musk says Donald Trump has asked SpaceX to rescue two astronauts who have been in space for more than seven months — even though NASA has said there's a plan in place.

The founder of SpaceX said President Trump had asked his company to return two astronauts aboard the space station to Earth “as soon as possible.” NASA said it would do that “as soon as practical.”

President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social that he's asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to retrieve two astronauts he says were "abandoned" by former President Joe Biden on the International Space Station.

Despite the statement from President Trump, NASA had already scheduled the astronauts' return for late March or April.

Then along comes Musk, with one of the world's loudest microphones, shouting that NASA's astronauts are stranded and that President Trump wants them saved. It's a bombshell thing for the founder of SpaceX, who has become a close adviser to Trump, to say publicly.

President Trump’s allies and aides are learning to deal with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has had a consistent presence in the early days of the Trump administration. Musk had a front-row seat at

President Donald Trump said on social media Tuesday that he asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to "go get" stranded astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station, blaming the

President Trump said Tuesday that he “asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to ‘go get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space.” “I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to ‘go get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration,

The president has claimed the previous administration abandoned the astronauts and has called on Elon Musk for aid.

Elon Musk says Donald Trump has asked SpaceX to rescue two astronauts who have been in space for more than seven months — even though NASA has said there's a plan in place. In a

Cracks have appeared in the modules, and vital systems have started to degrade. Even its once pristine solar panels, which powered countless experiments, have been ravaged by the harsh conditions of space. Russia has reported that much of its portion of the station is no longer fit for the rigours of spaceflight.