A Florida Republican congressman has set a bold goal for American missions to the moon
The Space Coast’s new congressman wants the US to set bold goals for research outside our Earthbelieving that the country’s potential will take Americans to the skies – literally.
“We have to do everything we can to make sure, but it’s done in a way that removes some of the red tape so we can go out there, compete and beat China and any other nation,” Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., said. is for Fox News Digital in an interview.
“Because the moon is still not a cliché from a Disney movie. It’s the future.”
Haridopolos said he would “love” to see the US return to the moon in the next four years of the Trump administration. The Florida Republican was careful not to speak in absolutes, noting, “We can’t guarantee anything,” but credited billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos for revitalizing the science and space sectors to make such talks possible.
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Rep. Mike Haridopolos is the newest congressman to represent Florida’s Space Coast. (Getty Images)
“It’s a stepping stone,” he said. “For example, as we move towards [nuclear power]with the need for more and more energy here in the United States…There are particles that are on the moon that they would bring back because they are very rare here in America [and] around the world.”
Helium-3 is a highly coveted resource found on the Moon that is known to be crucial in nuclear fusion processes.
“From that point you put the moon and then you go to Mars, which of course was Elon Musk’s vision,” Haridopolos said. “When he was thinking about things like SpaceX, it was, how can I get to Mars? And then how do you pay to get to Mars? That was the inspiration behind a lot of the new technologies he helped create. And now he has a fellow zillionaire in Jeff Bezos dreaming of the same things. It’s really exciting.”
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Haridopolos credited Elon Musk (left) and Jeff Bezos for their investment in commercial spaceflight. (AP Images)
In Congress, the first-term lawmaker represents a part of the country known for being home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The Space Coast broke its all-time annual record with 93 orbital launches last year, according to Florida Today.
This week alone is scheduled to host the launches of Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 and Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket.
He praised President-elect Trump’s vision for space, as well as incoming House Speaker Brian Babin, R-Texas, for space science and technology.
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Haridopolos also praised Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, the new chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“Donald Trump proved on day one and officially in 2019 that he loves space,” he said, referring to Trump’s creation of the Space Force.
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He suggested that the US approach to the final frontier might not be unlike the optimism and pride seen in 1969, when the Americans landed a team of astronauts on the moon.
“It was an inspiration for my parents’ generation,” Haridopolos said. “Now, of course, Elon Musk it gave us a whole new vision of potentially landing, in our lifetime, on Mars. That’s extraordinary. And so the president said this is the future.”
