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Updated at 12:23 pm: Vice President Mike Pence announced Tuesday in Huntsville that the United States now has a vision to send astronauts back to the moon's surface in the next five years.
Pence's voice grew louder when he made the announcement in a speech at a Space Council meeting in the historic Saturn V Hall at the US Space & Rocket Center.
According to Pence, thanks to NASA's giant SLS rocket and space capsule Orion, fully funded by the Trump administration, the space agency's goal is to land a man on the moon within five years.
The last astronauts walked on the moon in 1972.
Speaking just outside the gates of Redstone Arsenal, home of the Marshall Space Flight Center, Pence celebrated the work of Rocket Engineers in Huntsville and promised to play a leading role in future voyages into the United States. American space.
"We are committed to Marshall," said Pence.
Pence said China had landed an unmanned satellite on the dark side of the moon last year, the first of its kind to escape the Earth's gaze. The United States must once again become a world leader in space travel, Pence said.
"The rules and values of space will be established by the first to get there," said Pence, adding that it is America's challenge to ensure that these values belong to us.
To realize the vision of a return to the moon, NASA must make changes, said Pence.
"NASA needs to turn into a leaner and more accountable organization," Pence said, adding that NASA, in its current composition, was not able to reach the goal.
Some of these changes that NASA may be facing relate to the emergence of commercial rockets. If a commercial rocket or lunar lander is ready, NASA must have the authority and willingness to use these vehicles, Pence said.
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Original story: Vice President Mike Pence arrived at Huntsville International Airport on Tuesday morning, greeting his supporters on the tarmac before a series of meetings at the US Space & Rocket Center on the future of travel in the United States. space by the United States.
"Hi everyone," shouted Pence in front of fifty guests at the airport shortly after landing at 9:48.
Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Alabama, and Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong, officially greeted Pence at the steps of the plane. Pence was accompanied by US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao.
Pence met the guests on the tarmac, posing for photos and signing autographs for about 10 minutes before boarding his limo for the high-speed journey on I-565 that leads to the main tourist attraction. of the state.
Among the guests at the airport were Elbert Peters, top local and regional Republican leader, Frances Taylor, Alabama representative to the National Federation of Republican Women, Madison Republican Party Executive Chairman, Brad Taylor , and Judge Linda Coats, of Madison District.
Among the guests, there was a supporter wearing a red cap "Make America Great Again" and a child wearing an orange flight suit for NASA astronaut.
Upon arriving at the rocket center, Pence entered the Education Resource Center for private meetings prior to his official remarks at the Space Council meeting in the Saturn V Room of the Davidson Center for Space Exploration.
Local representatives at the space council meeting included Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Madison Mayor Paul Finley and a range of state legislators. Also present were Robert Lightfoot, former NASA Acting Administrator and Marshall Space Flight Center.
After the Space Council meeting, Pence is scheduled to meet the kids participating in the Space Camp this week at the rocket center before he leaves. Chao, Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and historian and NASA author Homer Hickham are also expected to join Pence for the space camp tour.
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