New Space Coast Congressman Wants US to Set Bold Exploration Goals beyond our Earthconvinced that the country’s potential will take Americans to new heights – literally.
“We have to do everything we can to ensure security, but it’s done in a way that removes some of the unnecessary red tape so we can go out there and compete and beat China and beat any other nation,” Rep. Mike said. Haridopolos, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“Because the Moon and beyond isn’t a cliché from a Disney movie. It’s the future.”
Haridopolos said he would ‘love’ to see the United States return to the moon over 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 he credited billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos with revitalizing the science and space sector to make such possible conversations.
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Representative Mike Haridopolos is the newest member of Congress representing Florida’s Space Coast. (Getty Images)
“It’s a stepping stone,” he said. “For example, as we start to move towards (nuclear energy), 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 that they are very rare here in America (and) throughout the world.
Helium-3 is a highly coveted resource found on the Moon and known for its key role in nuclear fusion processes.
“From there you land 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, he was like, how can I go to Mars? And then, how do you pay to go to Mars? That’s the inspiration behind a lot of the new technologies that he helped pioneer. create And now he has a fellow zillionaire Jeff Bezos dreams of the same kind of 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 famous for being home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral space station.
The Space Coast broke its all-time annual record with 93 orbital launches last year, according to Florida Today.
Also this week, it is scheduled to host launches of Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 and Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket.
He praised President-elect Trump’s vision for space as well as that of new House Space Science and Technology Chairman Brian Babin, R-Texas.
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Haridopolos also congratulated 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 from 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 America’s approach to the final frontier may be no different from the optimism and pride seen in 1969, when Americans landed a team of astronauts on the Moon.
“He was an inspiration to my parents’ generation,” Haridopolos said. “Now, of course, Elon Musk gave us this whole new vision of a potential landing, in our lifetime, on Mars. It’s remarkable. And so the president said this is the future.”