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A new congressman from the Space Coast wants the US to set bold goals for research beyond our Earthbelieving that the country’s potential will lift Americans to sky-high heights – literally.
“We need to do everything we can to make sure it’s safe, but it’s done in a way that gets rid of some of the red tape so we can go out and compete and beat China and any other nation,” Rep. Mike. Haridapalos, Florida, told Fox News Digital.
“Because the moon and beyond isn’t a cliche from a Disney movie. It’s the future.”
Haridapalos said he was “willing” 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 space sector to make such conversations possible.
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Representative Mike Haridopoulos is the new congressman representing Florida’s Space Coast. (Getty Images)
“It’s a stepping stone,” he said. “For example, as we start to move toward (nuclear power), here in the United States, we need more and more energy … There are particles on the moon that they will bring back because there are very few of them here. in America (and) around the world.”
Helium-3 is a highly sought-after resource found on the Moon that is known to be key in nuclear fusion processes.
“From that point on, you set the moon and then you go to Mars, which of course was Elon Musk’s vision,” Haridopalos said. “When he was thinking about things like SpaceX, it was a question of how do I get to Mars? And then how to pay to get to Mars? It was the inspiration for many of the new technologies he helped create. And now he has a Second Millionaire in the person of Jeff Bezos to dream of the same thing. It’s really exciting.
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Haridopalos recognized Elon Musk (left) and Jeff Bezos for their investments in commercial spaceflight. (AP Images)
In Congress, the first-term lawmaker represents a part of the country known for being home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
According to Florida Today, the Space Coast broke its all-time annual record with 93 orbital launches last year.
Both Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket are scheduled to launch this week alone.
He praised President-elect Trump’s vision for space, as well as incoming House Space Science and Technology Chairman Brian Babin, R-Texas.
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Haridopalos 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 proven from day one and officially in 2019 that he loves space,” he said, referring to Trump’s creation of a space force.
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He suggested that the US approach to the final frontier could not be more different from the optimism and pride seen in 1969, when the Americans landed a group of astronauts on the moon.
“It was an inspiration to my parents’ generation,” Haridopalos said. “Now of course Elon Musk have given us a whole new vision of a potential Mars landing in our lifetime. That’s great. And so the president said that this is the future.”
