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New Space Coast Congressman Wants US to Set Bold Goals for Exploration beyond our Earthbelieving that the country’s potential will take Americans to the clouds, literally.
“We need to do everything we can to make sure it’s safe, but it’s done in a way that eliminates some of the superfluous bureaucracy so we can go out and compete and beat China and any other nation,” Rep. Mike said. Haridopolos, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“Because the moon and the afterlife is not a cliché from a Disney movie. It is the future.”
Haridopolos said he would “love” to see the United States return to the moon in the next four years of the Trump administration. The Florida Republican was careful not to speak in absolute terms, noting, “We can’t guarantee anything,” but credited billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos for revitalizing the science and space sector to make such talks possible.
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Rep. Mike Haridopolos is the newest congressman representing Florida’s Space Coast. (Getty Images)
“It’s a stepping stone,” he said. “For example, as we’re starting to move toward (nuclear energy), with the need for more and more energy here in the United States… There are particles that are on the Moon that you would bring back because they are very scarce here . in the United States (and) around the world.”
Helium-3 is a highly coveted resource found on the Moon and known to be key in nuclear fusion processes.
“From that point, you settle on the Moon and then continue on to Mars, which has been, of course, Elon Musk’s vision,” Haridopolos said. “When I was thinking about things like SpaceX, the question was: How do I get to Mars? And then how do you pay to get to Mars? That was the inspiration behind a lot of the new technologies he helped create. And now he has one. “Billionaire 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 part of the country that is famous for being home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The Space Coast broke its all-time annual record with 93 orbital launches last year, according to Florida Today.
Launches of Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket are scheduled to take place this week.
He praised both President-elect Trump’s vision for space and the new House Space Science and Technology chairman, Brian Babin, R-Texas.
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Haridopolos also praised 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 has shown 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 took a team of astronauts to the moon.
“He was an inspiration to my parents’ generation,” Haridopolos said. “Now, of course, Elon Musk gave us this whole new vision of potentially landing, in our lifetime, on Mars. It’s remarkable. And then the president said this is the future.”
