President Trump on Monday turned his attention to outer space — speaking with the astronaut who broke the US record for the longest stint in orbit and predicting that humans would visit Mars during his second term.
The president, flanked by his daughter Ivanka and astronaut Kate Rubins, spoke during a video conference with Peggy Whitson and other NASA astronauts on the international space station.
“That’s what we like, great American equipment that works,” Trump joked when the connection between the White House and space station went through.
Trump asked them about the timeline for stationing humans on Mars, and said he would like to speed it up and get it done “at worst, during my second term.”
He praised the spacemen and women and made an appeal to seek out volunteers to help accomplish the interplanetary mission.
“I have great respect for you folks, it’s amazing what you do,” Trump said.
“Many American entrepreneurs are racing into space,” he said, noting he had “many friends” who want to get involved in commercial space-related activity.
“Who’s ready to go to Mars up there?” he asked the astronauts.
Whitson liked the idea.
“Getting there will require some international cooperation,” Whitson said. “Just because it is a very expensive endeavor. But it is so worthwhile doing.”
She set the US record Monday for most cumulative days in space, surpassing astronaut Jeff Williams’ record of 534 days, NASA said.
“It’s actually a huge honor to break a record like this,” Whitson responded. “It’s an honor for me to be representing all the folks at NASA who make space travel possible and make me setting this record feasible.”
But Trump had some qualms about life aboard the space station.
After hearing about an experiment on board that converts urine to water, and that the astronauts had drunk it and said it wasn’t as bad as it sounded, Trump quipped, “Well, that’s good. I’m glad to hear that. Better you than me.”
The commander in chief also touted the potential advantage that space conquest could provide America’s armed forces, saying there was “tremendous military application in space.”