Oval Office landing
Trump marks Apollo 11 anniversary by meeting with astronauts
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon at an Oval Office meeting Friday with the astronauts who made the trip.
Flanked by Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Michael Collins and the family of mission Cmdr. Neil Armstrong, who passed away in 2012, Trump was briefed on his administration’s plans to send astronauts back to the moon and to Mars, as well as advances in commercial spaceflight and the ability to reuse space systems.
“We are bringing the glamour back” to the space program, Trump said Friday from the Oval Office, where he was joined by First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
Trump directed Bridenstine to listen to the “other side” of his Mars exploration plan, referencing concerns by some that the most efficient way to the Red Planet doesn’t begin with a lunar visit. NASA’S current plans include going to the moon as a celestial steppingstone to Mars.
Aldrin told Trump that he’s disappointed more advancements haven’t been made in space over the past decade.
Aldrin and Armstrong, who was from Wapakoneta, in northwest Ohio, made history when they walked on the moon 50 years ago Saturday, as Collins orbited overhead in their command module.
Pence will mark the 50th anniversary Saturday with a visit and speech at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.