We do have an enormous black budget covering deep underground base cities, a massive transport tube network, and bases in the ground off-earth. When the Challenger blew up, we already had covert alternative space vehicles, which is why the space shuttle program was disbanded. The DUMBs technology for living underground was eminently adaptable to other planets and was used for that. It's likely we spent a huge amount of money developing tunnelers suitable for Mars or moon use, and getting these heavy things there.

We do have an enormous black budget covering deep underground base cities, a massive transport tube network, and bases in the ground off-earth. When the Challenger blew up, we already had covert alternative space vehicles, which is why the space shuttle program was disbanded.