Obama targets Mars. Mr Obama said he was giving Nasa challenging goals and the funding needed to achieve them, including an extra $6bn over the next five years. The US President Barack Obama says it should be possible to send astronauts to orbit the planet Mars by the mid-2030s and return them safely to Earth. The US president made the claim in a major speech to staff and guests at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Barack Obama
“By 2025, we expect new spacecraft designed for long journeys to allow us to begin the first-ever crewed missions beyond the Moon into deep space,” he told his audience. “So we’ll start – we’ll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid for the first time in history.”
And then he added: “By the mid-2030s, I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth. And a landing on Mars will follow. And I expect to be around to see it.”
Some 8,000 people at KSC expect to be jobless, a fact not lost on Obama.
“Now it’s true — there are Floridians who will see their work on the shuttle end as the program winds down,” he said, noting the decision was made by the previous administration.
In a private meeting with Obama and a handful of others, Brevard County Commissioner Robin Fisher lobbied for an extension. But Obama was no-go.
Obama’s space plan excerpt
President Barack Obama says he is “100 percent committed to the mission of NASA and its future.” Video provided by NASA TV
Obama on space jobs
President Barack Obama proposes a $40 million initiative to outline regional growth and job creation on the Space Coast.
Space program rally 4/15
Titusville EDC director reacts
Titusville Director of Economic Development Matt Chesnut answers questions following President Obama’s speech at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday.
