Oct. 5 (UPI) -- At its first meeting in a quarter-century Thursday, the recently-resurrected National Space Council met with Vice President Mike Pence to discuss the U.S. space agenda's aim to send astronauts "to Mars and beyond."
Pence, who chairs the commission, said the United States plans to rebuild a space program to send humans back to the surface of the moon -- a decision meant to serve as a "steppingstone [and] training ground" to attempt a manned mission to Mars.