Morrison to unveil $150 m support for Trump’s Mars mission

Scott Morrison has used a visit to Nasa yesterday local time to unveil a $150m investment in Australian businesses and new technology to support the American space agency launch expeditions to the moon and to Mars. The Australian prime minister on his second day in the American capital visited Nasa, and also laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery.

Morrison visited the graves of Australian military personnel and visit the tomb of The Unknown Soldier. Later in the day, the prime minister visited Bunker Labs and met entrepreneurs working with war veterans before attending a tree-planting ceremony at the official residence of the Australian ambassador to Washington, Joe Hockey.

In a statement ahead of Saturday’s program, Morrison said the $150m commitment over five years would see the Australian Space Agency “foster the new ideas and hi-tech skilled jobs that will make Australian businesses a partner of choice to fit out Nasa missions”. Asked on Friday in the Oval Office to outline how America and Australia could work together to develop the space program, Donald Trump claimed credit for reviving the sector.

“We’re doing a great program,” the president said. “We have a tremendous space program. If you look at our facilities, they were virtually closed up. There was crabgrass growing on the runways and now they’re vital. “And you know, we’re … going to Mars. We’re stopping at the moon. The moon is actually a launching pad. That’s why we’re stopping at the moon. “I said, ‘Hey, we’ve done the moon. That’s not so exciting.’ They said, ‘No, sir. It’s a launching pad for Mars.’ So we’ll be doing the moon. But we’ll really be doing Mars. And we’ll be – we’re making tremendous progress”.