Apparently we’re going to Mars soon, according to Trump, who said it today while in a joint press conference with Shinzo Abe:
FOX NEWS – President Trump said Monday that the United States will be “going to Mars very soon” as he announced new cooperation between the U.S. and Japan in sending humans to space, though he did not give a timetable.
“I am pleased to confirm that Prime Minister Abe and I have agreed to dramatically expand our nations’ cooperation in human space exploration,” Trump said during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. “Japan will join our mission to send U.S. astronauts to space.”
Trump added, “We’ll be going to the moon. We’ll be going to Mars very soon. It’s very exciting. And from a military standpoint, there is nothing more important right now than space.”
Trump did not provide additional details. But earlier this year, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said of the U.S.’s space ambitions: “The moon is the proving ground; Mars is the horizon goal.”
While I think the notion of actually going to Mars is a bit absurd, I do like having it as a goal.
Pushing ourselves to accomplish something that seems impossible is exactly how we develop better technology and innovations that can help all of mankind. Also, space is certainly where the military needs to be in terms of global defense.
Right now the goal is 2033 to launch a manned mission to Mars and while I have my doubts about getting there, I might also have been one of those fuddy duddies who didn’t believe we were going to the moon.