American boots on Mars have to wait

Cape Canaveral, July 9: The White House has championed a new era of US leadership in space, but its aspirations are complicated by tight budgets, vacancies in top posts and the rising role of private industry in aerospace innovation, experts say.

During a Thursday speech at Kennedy Space Centre, vice-president Mike Pence delighted hundreds of space agency employees and contractors by pledging “under President Trump, we will achieve more in space than we ever thought possible.” Mr Pence promised a “return to the Moon,” as well as “American boots on the face of Mars” and a “constant presence in lowEarth orbit.” But some were left wondering what exactly Pence meant. “‘Moon’ could mean anything — commercial, robotic, international or otherwise,” said Phil Larson, a White House space adviser under expresident Obama and exofficial with SpaceX.

Mr Larson described a series of recent spacethemed orations by Pence as “no cake, just icing.”

John Logsdon, former head of the George Washington University Space Policy Institute, agreed. “I think (Thursday’s) speech was, of course, short on substance because there is no substance,” Logsdon said.