Space & Astronomy

Pence: 'we will return astronauts to the Moon'

By T.K. Randall
October 6, 2017 ·  24 comments

It has been almost five decades since mankind first landed on the Moon. Image Credit: NASA Speaking at the National Space Council this week, Pence stated that the Moon would act as a 'stepping stone' to venturing further out in to the solar system.

"We will return astronauts to the Moon - not only to leave behind footprints and flags, but to build the foundation we need to send Americans to Mars and beyond," he said.

He also noted that NASA would need to reassert itself with regard to its goals and policies.

"The president has charged us with laying the foundation for America to maintain a constant commercial human presence in low-Earth orbit," he said."From there, we will turn our attention back toward our celestial neighbors."

Recently it was revealed that NASA would be working with the Russian space agency Roscosmos towards the goal of building a lunar space station as part of its 'Deep Space Gateway' programme.

"The partners intend to develop international technical standards which will be used later, in particular to create a space station in lunar orbit," Roscosmos said in a statement.

If everything goes to plan, there is a chance that the project could go ahead within the next ten years.

Source: BBC News | Comments (24)

Tags: Moon