Trump marks Apollo 11 anniversary by meeting its astronauts

Associated Press
Friday, July 19, 2019 1:23 p.m. | Friday, July 19, 2019 1:23 p.m.

President Donald Trump meets Friday with Apollo 11 astronauts Michael Collins, left, and Buzz Aldrin. Vice President Mike Pence and first lady Melania Trump listen in during a photo opportunity commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is marking the 50th anniversary of the first human steps on the moon at an Oval Office meeting Friday with former Apollo 11 astronauts.

The group includes Buzz Aldrin, Mike Collins and the family of mission commander Neil Armstrong. They are being briefed on the Trump administration’s plans to send astronauts back to the moon and onto Mars.

Trump told them Friday, “we are bringing the glamour back” to the space program.

Armstrong, who died in 2012, and Aldrin made history when they landed on the moon 50 years ago Saturday, as Collins orbited overhead in their command module.

Vice President Mike Pence is set to mark the anniversary Saturday with a visit and speech at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.