The Space Coast's new congressman wants the United States to set bold goals for exploration Far from our landBelieving that the country's potential would lift Americans to the sky — literally.
“We need to do everything we can to make sure it's safe, but done in a way that removes some of the unnecessary red tape so that we can go out and compete and beat China and beat any other country,” Rep. Mike said. Haridopoulos, a Republican from Florida, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“Because the moon and beyond isn't a cliche from a Disney movie. It's the future.”
Haridopoulos said he “would love” to see the United States Back to the moon In the next four years of the Trump administration. The Florida Republican was careful not to speak in absolutes, noting that “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 talks possible.
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Rep. Mike Haridopoulos is the newest member of Congress to represent Florida's Space Coast. (Getty Images)
“It's a starting point,” he said. “For example, as we start moving toward (nuclear energy), with the need for more and more energy here in the United States… there are molecules that are on the moon that they will bring back because they are very rare here in America (and) around the world.”
Helium-3 is a highly sought-after resource found on the Moon and known to be essential in nuclear fusion processes.
“From that point, it will settle on the Moon, and then go to Mars, which was of course Elon Musk’s vision,” Haridopoulos said. “When he thought about things like SpaceX, the question was: How do I get to Mars? And then how do I pay to get to Mars? That's been the inspiration behind a lot of the new technologies he's helped create. And now he has the opportunity fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos dreams of. The same kind of thing, it's really exciting.
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Haridopoulos credited Elon Musk (left) and Jeff Bezos for investing in commercial spaceflight. (AP Photo)
In Congress, the first-term lawmaker represents part of the country best known for being home to NASA's Kennedy Space Center and the Space Force's Cape Canaveral Station.
The Space Coast broke its all-time annual record with 93 orbital launches last year, according to Florida Today.
This week, it is scheduled to host launches of both Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Bezos' Blue Origin rocket.
He praised President-elect Trump's vision for space as well as new House Space Science and Technology Chairman Brian Babin, Republican of Texas.
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Haridopoulos 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)
He added: “Donald Trump has proven from day one and officially in 2019 that he loves space,” referring to Trump’s creation of the Space Force.
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He noted that the American approach to the final frontier may not differ from the optimism and pride we saw in 1969, when Americans landed a team of astronauts on the moon.
“He was an inspiration to my father’s generation,” Haridopoulos said. “Now of course Elon Musk This gave us a completely new view of a possible landing, within our lifetime, on Mars. It's great. That's why the president said this is the future.”
