"We’ll have to speed that up a little bit," Trump said of the Mars mission, apparently in jest, noting that he would like to see a human on the Red Planet in his the first or second term as president.
When Trump asked who on the station wanted to fly to Mars, Whitson replied, "We’re all ready to go."
But Whitson indicated the flight scheduled for sometimes in the 2030s would probably belong to the next generation of astronauts, urging students to study math, science and technology so that they could be part of that mission.
Trump called Whitson from the Oval Office, sitting alongside his daughter Ivanka Trump and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins. Whitson explained the International Space Station is providing a "key bridge" for people on Earth to eventually travel into deep space.
