The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has announced this Friday an ambitious modernization plan for the NASA Kennedy Space Center Aeronautics Hall, accompanied by a commitment that the United States will “return” its astronauts to the Moon before his term ends.
During a speech at a summit held at the facilities of the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, Trump said that within two years the public will be able to see the “largest aeronautics hall in the world,” which, as he has emphasized, will become the “main venue for air and space demonstrations anywhere in the world”.
The leader referred to the conversion of the former Space Shuttle runway, which will become a complex of much larger dimensions. He stressed that this transformation will attract “hundreds of thousands of visitors every year” and generate an economic impact of “millions of dollars”. He also advanced that “commercial agreements” will be signed with the major airlines and manufacturers in the sector, including Boeing.
Trump has claimed the “leadership” and “dominance” of the U.S. aerospace industry under his Administration, insisting that “they must build the future” of this technological field within the country’s borders.
“The United States cannot continue to be the leading nation on Earth if it pulls away from the next frontier. History has shown that if a nation wants to dominate the future, then it must build the future (...) Great civilizations do not stay still—they are either rising or falling, expanding or contracting, leading or declining—and in the United States, our destiny is to lead,” the occupant of the White House emphasized.
As for plans for the return of U.S. astronauts to the Moon, the president has reaffirmed the mission 'Artemis III', which “will take the astronauts to lunar orbit on a complex mission to test the next lunar landing modules”. He added that before his term ends, “the United States will establish a permanent presence on the lunar surface”.
Trump also confirmed that, over the next two years, “NASA will launch the first spacecraft powered by nuclear energy to Mars”.
"Our purpose is to build and our goal is always to win, pushing the limits of human achievement beyond what no one has reached before. We are ready," Trump concluded when referring to future space missions.