Reports suggest that Jared Isaacman, a close aide to Elon Musk, has re-emerged as the leading candidate for the position of Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) following meetings with President Trump and key White House officials. Earlier this year, Trump nominated Isaacman for the NASA role, but later withdrew the nomination.

According to a post shared on Thursday by Eric Daugherty, assistant editor of the digital news outlet Florida's Voice, Isaacman has met with Trump multiple times in recent weeks.

Bloomberg also reported on Thursday that Isaacman is applying for the NASA Administrator position, noting that Joseph Guastella, a retired Air Force General and executive at Northrop Grumman, is also being considered for the role.

The report indicates that Guastella has a close relationship with Trump's ally, General Dan "Rasin" Kane. Both candidates have met with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was appointed as NASA's interim Administrator by Trump in July.

Isaacman's nomination may indicate a more Mars-centric approach for NASA. Earlier, Isaacman reaffirmed the significance of human missions to Mars, stating, "We will prioritize sending American astronauts to Mars" during a Senate hearing earlier this year.

Interestingly, Musk recently remarked that achieving plans for colonizing Mars would require transporting 100,000 people and 1 million tons of cargo to the red planet. Musk has touted SpaceX's Starship as a crucial component in realizing this ambition.