On Friday, Donald Trump was sworn-in as the 45th president of United States of America in Washington DC. His oath taking ceremony was accompanied by a traditional inauguration speech that touched down on several sensitive issues.
Trump's inauguration speech stood out from most of his predecessors' for one particular reason. He became one of the few presidents to include the important topic of "space" in his inauguration speech.
Although President Trump spoke very briefly on the issue, but his gesture to talk on a non-political issue like 'space' will certainly cheer up the scientific community.
"We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the Earth from the miseries of disease and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will stir ourselves, lift our sights and heal our divisions," Trump said.
The US President, however, did not elaborate on how he plans to unlock the space mystery during his reign.
Trump so far has spoken very little about space or activities related to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). During his election rallies and post-victory interviews, he focused more on political issues.
However, in one of the rallies in October last year, he spoke briefly about NASA. He said that NASA must stop focusing on lower Earth orbit and look to deep space exploration.
Earlier in the month, one of Trump's senior policy advisors made a similar suggestion that NASA must become more ambitious in deep space exploration.
The Trump administration could increase NASA'S budget for deep space exploration project.
Besides Trump, former US Presidents like Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan also talked about space in their inaugural speech.