Speaking on Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence said that it is the administration's goal to eventually return American astronauts to the moon to create a moon base of sorts that would facilitate trips to Mars. Pence also said that there will be a "constant presence" in low-Earth orbit.
The International Space Station is a low-Earth orbit satellite. Currently, there are six people aboard, including three Americans.
Here's a clip of Pence speaking at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center:
We'll return astronauts to the moon to build the foundation we need to send Americans to Mars & beyond #NextFrontier https://t.co/S5gNDUVyCr
— Vice President Pence (@VP) October 5, 2017
The Trump administration has re-assembled the National Space Council, which was disbanded in 1993. Trump re-established the National Space Council in an executive order signed in June.
Pence tweeted that it is a "great honor" to serve as the National Space Council's chair.
To guide this new era of U.S space leadership, @POTUS relaunched Nat'l Space Council & it's my great honor to serve as chair. #NextFrontier pic.twitter.com/xqzLyIVHJ3
— Vice President Pence (@VP) October 5, 2017
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Since the ending of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, the only way to get to the ISS is via Russia's Soyuz spacecrafts, and there has not been a declared replacement for the shuttle fleet. Americans have not been to the moon since December of 1972.
It's certainly interesting to re-focus efforts on space exploration. I'm very curious to see what NASA is able to come up with.
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