President Trump has high hopes for a successful manned space trip to Mars during his time as POTUS. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson shared a video chat with the President where he asked Whitson for her guess on when an endeavor to Mars would be feasible. Whitson estimated that a space journey of such distance could possibly be executed in the 2030s. President Trump wants to move up that timeline.
The Washington Examiner reports, “We want to try and do it during my first term or at worst during my second term,” Trump said, “so we’re going to have to speed that up a little, OK?”
Whitson was speaking with Trump via video conference to celebrate breaking the record for longest continuous time in space. Whitson has been in space for 534 days.
Trump questioned Whitson about the technology she’s using in space and what her mission has been like. At one point, he got a few laughs when Whitson told him the astronauts in the International Space Station have been drinking their own urine — after filtering and purifying it — and she said it wasn’t that bad.
“That’s good, I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “Better you than me.”
Watch the video conference here:
