Japan and the U.S. will launch a mission to Mars “very soon,” President Trump said as he announced an expanded space exploration program between the two nations during his visit to Tokyo.

Trump’s statement comes as Washington vies with Beijing in the race to explore Mars, opening another front in the battle for influence.

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At the end of a four-day state visit, Trump said: “Japan will join our mission to send U.S. astronauts to space.”

“We’ll be going to the moon,” he sad. “We’ll be going to Mars very soon.”

“It’s very exciting. And from a military standpoint, there is nothing more important right now than space,” Trump said.

Trump has repeatedly outlined Mars ambitions. In 2017, he signed a bill that put NASA on a timetable of sending a mission to Mars in 2033…. (Excerpted from The Washington Examiner article by Rob Crilly)