THE AMERICAN SPIRIT – AT 8:16 A.M. ET:  When is the last time you heard the term "space program"?  It used to be one of most inspirational aspects of American life.  Under Obama, there was barely a mention.  Oh yes, he did tell his NASA chief that one of his jobs was "Muslim outreach."  Strange, but I never read that in the NASA charter. 

Things are different now.  From the New York Post:   

President Trump peeled back the curtain on his plans for the US space program on Tuesday — singing a sweeping NASA policy bill into effect and reaffirming the agency’s commitment to human exploration and putting a man on Mars.

“For almost six decades NASA’s work has inspired millions and millions of Americans to imagine distant worlds and a better future right here on Earth,” Trump explained during the signing, which was attended by astronauts, lawmakers and scientists.

“With this legislation, we support NASA’s scientists, engineers, astronauts and their pursuit of discovery,” he said. “It’s been a long time since a bill like this has been signed reaffirming our national commitment to the core mission of NASA, human space exploration, space science and technology.”

The bill, dubbed the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017, was co-authored by Trump’s campaign trail rivals Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio, both of whom were in attendance for the signing. The event marked the first time President Trump spoke about the space program in public since the election.

The new NASA legislation mainly keeps the agency on the same trajectory it’s been since its last authorization act in 2010, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The bill extends a number of important space programs, including the Hubble Telescope and the International Space Station through 2024 — and calls for a crewed mission to Mars by 2033. It also states that manned missions to deep space would be NASA’s main goal in the decades to come.

COMMENT:  Terrific.  We will go to Mars...because that's what Americans do.  We're sure the Muslim world won't miss the "outreach."

March 22, 2017