Donald Trump tells troops he wants to launch a 'space force' because it is a 'warfighting domain'
President says voyage to Mars will happen 'very soon'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump mused to an audience of Marines about launching an extraterrestrial branch of the military.
“Space is a warfighting domain, just like the land, air and sea”, Mr Trump told an audience at Miramar Air Station, near San Diego. “We may even have a space force - develop another one”.
“I was saying it the other day, because we’re doing a tremendous amount of work in space - maybe we need a new force, we’ll call it the Space Force”, Mr Trump added. “I was not really serious, and then I said ‘what a great idea, maybe we’ll have to do that. That could happen’”.
In viewing space through a national security lens, Mr Trump was echoing his administration’s past justifications for bolstering American space exploration. Last year the President signed a directive seeking to revive the country’s moribund space programme.
The stated rationale for those efforts is in part a military one. Vice President Mike Pence cited America’s “prosperity, security and identity” in describing the initiative last year, noting that Russia was eclipsing America beyond Earth’s atmosphere and cautioning that both Russia and China were formulating technology that could interfere with US satellites.
Reaching Mars has also been a recurring focus for Mr Trump. In signing the space policy directive, he spoke of establishing a foundation “for an eventual mission to Mars and perhaps, someday, to many worlds beyond”.
In his speech to the Marines, Mr Trump projected more certainty about reaching Mars - and worked in a dig at former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“Very soon we’re going to Mars”, Mr Trump said. “You wouldn’t have been going to Mars if my opponent won”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments