--- title: Most Americans Say Returning to the Moon Shouldn't Be Priority description: Most Americans don't think returning to the moon should be a top priority for the country's space program, a recent poll found. canonical: https://time.com/5621849/moon-return-poll/ author: Julia Webster article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-07-08T12:54:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:53:37.514Z article:section: Science og:title: Most Americans Say Returning to the Moon Shouldn't Be a Priority og:description: They favor outer space research and asteroid tracking og:url: https://time.com/5621849/moon-return-poll/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt170cbc453420fc87/6989ffa809208f17f241535a/gettyimages-1128138042.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Moon over Cologne og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Most Americans Say Returning to the Moon Shouldn't Be a Priority twitter:description: They favor outer space research and asteroid tracking twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt170cbc453420fc87/6989ffa809208f17f241535a/gettyimages-1128138042.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:11 video:published: 2019-03-27 section: politics topics: return to the moon, five-year lunar goal, permanent moon base, Mars exploration, NASA reform, US space policy, Marshall Space Flight Center, American astronauts, Trump administration policy genre: speech, news tones: determined, ambitious, urgent, patriotic emotions: determination (high), pride (high), urgency (medium) sentiment: positive audience: general news viewers, space enthusiasts, policy followers, NASA stakeholders people: Mike Pence organizations: NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, United States administration content_suitability: politics [00:00-01:11] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Most Americans Say Returning to the Moon Shouldn't Be a Space Program Priority > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=edf46e95-d258-475b-80c5-80917df0273c&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Vice President Mike Pence Wants to Land Astronauts on the Moon Within Five Years [Watch (HLS stream): Vice President Mike Pence Wants to Land Astronauts on the Moon Within Five Years](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nXrCKPwb.m3u8) (1:11)  _Published 2019-03-27. Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday called for landing astronauts on the moon within five years, an accelerated pace that would aim to put Americans on the lunar south pole._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Vice President Mike Pence addresses the men and women of Marshall Space Flight Center and the American people on behalf of the president. He states a policy of returning American astronauts to the moon within five years, establishing a permanent base there, and developing technologies for Mars and beyond. He also calls for NASA to transform into a leaner, more accountable and more agile organization, saying the organization should change rather than the mission. ## Key points - The goals are to return American astronauts to the moon, establish a permanent base there, and develop technologies to take American astronauts to Mars and beyond. (00:08) - Pence says the United States was the first nation to reach the moon in the 20th Century and will be the first to return astronauts in the 21st Century. (00:20) - Pence says he is speaking on the president's behalf to the men and women of Marshall Space Flight Center and the American people. (00:30) - He states that, at the President's direction, it is administration policy to return American astronauts to the moon within the next five years. (00:40) - Pence says NASA must transform itself into a leaner, more accountable and more agile organization. (00:55) - He says that if NASA is not currently capable of landing astronauts on the moon in five years, the organization needs to change. (00:59) - Pence says the organization, not the mission, should be changed. (01:05) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:30] Vision for returning to the moon. Pence frames a return to the moon as the next giant leap, including a permanent base and technologies for Mars and beyond. - [00:30 to 00:55] Five-year policy announced. Speaking for the president at Marshall Space Flight Center, Pence states the policy of returning astronauts to the moon within five years. - [00:55 to 01:11] NASA must change, not the mission. Pence calls for NASA to become leaner, more accountable and more agile to meet the five-year goal. ## Key quotes - [00:08] Mike Pence: "us to make the next giant leap and return American astronauts to the moon, establish a permanent base there and develop the technologies to take American astronauts to Mars and beyond." - [00:43] Mike Pence: "it is the stated policy of this administration and the United States of America to return American astronauts to the moon within the next five years." - [00:55] Mike Pence: "NASA must transform itself into a leaner, more accountable and more agile organization." - [01:03] Mike Pence: "We need to change the organization. Not the mission." ## Questions this video answers - What is the stated policy of the administration regarding the moon? [00:43] - What goals does Pence outline beyond returning astronauts to the moon? [00:08] - Within what timeframe does Pence say American astronauts should return to the moon? [00:47] - What changes does Pence say NASA must make? [00:55] - Who is Pence speaking for and to in this address? [00:30] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-01:11]: Government official announces administration space policy and calls for reorganizing NASA. by [Julia Webster](https://time.com/author/julia-webster/) ## Julia Webster Jul 8, 2019 12:54 PM UTC Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday called for landing astronauts on the moon within five years, an accelerated pace that would aim to put Americans on the lunar south pole. by [Julia Webster](https://time.com/author/julia-webster/) ## Julia Webster Jul 8, 2019 12:54 PM UTC Most Americans don’t think [returning to the moon](https://time.com/5618252/nasa-orion-abort-test/) should be a top priority for the country’s space program, a recent poll found, despite the Trump administration’s goal to do exactly that within five years. Only 23% of Americans consider the return voyage a priority, according to an Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research [poll](http://www.apnorc.org/projects/Pages/Space-Exploration-Attitudes-toward-the-U-S--Space-Program.aspx). The results come after U.S. Vice President Mike Pence announced in March a plan to return to the moon within five years. “In this century, we’re going back to the moon with new ambitions,” Pence said at the time, pointing to the possibility of valuable resources around the lunar south pole that could be converted into rocket fuel for longer missions. But the poll, conducted in May ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing this month, showed that 37% of Americans said reaching Mars is a more important goal, while 43% do not think either action should be a priority. Most Americans agreed the the space program’s top priorities should be monitoring potentially dangerous objects like asteroids and comets, as well as conducting scientific research to expand knowledge of the Earth, solar system and the universe more broadly. Establishing permanent human settlements on other planets or developing an American military presence in space are at the bottom of the list, with around 20% of Americans saying either are very important. Most respondents also agreed that the federal government should be primarily responsible for extraterrestrial efforts, with academia, private companies and other countries playing a lesser role. The poll was conducted with 1,137 adults via online and telephone interviews. ## Transcript [00:00] Fifty years ago one small step for man became one [00:03] giant leap for mankind. But now's come the time for [00:08] us to make the next giant leap and return American [00:13] astronauts to the moon, establish a permanent base [00:16] there and develop the technologies to take American [00:20] astronauts to Mars and beyond. Just as The United [00:24] States was the first nation to reach the moon in the [00:26] 20th Century, so too we'll be the first nation to [00:30] return astronauts to the moon in the 21st Century. And [00:33] I'm here on the president's behalf to tell the men and [00:37] women of Marshall Space Flight Center and the [00:40] American people. That at the direction of the President [00:43] of the United States, it is the stated policy of this [00:47] administration and the United States of America to [00:51] return American astronauts to the moon within the next [00:55] five years. NASA must transform itself into a leaner, [00:59] more accountable and more agile organization. If NASA [01:03] is not currently capable of landing American astronauts [01:05] on the moon in 5 years. We need to change the [01:08] organization. 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