spacetoday.net: Gingrich proposes lunar base

Posted: Thu, Jan 26, 2012, 6:51 AM ET (1151 GMT)
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that, if elected, he would set a goal of establishing a lunar base by 2020. Gingrich, speaking at a rally in Cocoa, Florida, said he would propose the creation of a lunar base by the end of his second term in office, which would be 2020, suggesting that when the population of that base swelled to a certain level, it could seek statehood. He also called for development of continuous-thrust propulsion technology that could allow for much shorter trips to Mars. Gingrich, long an advocate of prizes, said he would set aside 10 percent of the NASA budget for prizes to support these and other ventures. Gingrich made the speech as he campaigned in advance of the Republican presidential primary in Florida, which takes place Tuesday. Gingrich and Mitt Romney are the two current frontrunners in the race for the GOP nomination against current president Barack Obama.