WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation issued the following statement on President Donald Trump’s directive prioritizing a focus of U.S. space policy on returning manned missions to the Moon.

“This directive accelerates U.S. leadership in working with international and commercial partners to explore deep space. Manned space travel captures our imagination and past missions have led to many important commercial uses of space that impact our everyday lives. I applaud the President for his engagement on sending a manned mission to the Moon and, as underscored in the bipartisan reauthorization of NASA signed into law earlier this year, eventually to Mars.”

The Commerce Committee and its Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness exercise jurisdiction in the U.S. Senate over the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).