The US will 'plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond,' Trump tells Congress

特朗普向国会宣称：美国将"在火星乃至更远星球插上美国国旗"

President Donald Trump told lawmakers that U.S. astronauts will one day carry the American flag to Mars and beyond during a speech before the joint session of Congress late Tuesday (March 5).

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周二（3月5日）晚在国会联席会议上发表演讲时对议员们表示，美国宇航员有朝一日将把国旗插上火星乃至更远的星球。

"We are going to conquer the vast frontiers of science, and we are going to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond," Trump told Congress during his speech to a joint Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday night.

特朗普总统周二晚间在国会参众两院联席会议上发表演讲时宣称："我们将征服广阔的科学前沿，引领人类迈向太空，将美国国旗插上火星乃至更遥远的地方。"

"And through it all, we are going to rediscover the unstoppable power of the American spirit, and we are going to renew unlimited promise of the American dream," Trump said.

特朗普表示："在此过程中，我们将重新发掘美国精神那势不可挡的力量，并将重燃美国梦那无限的可能。"

Related: Presidential visions for space exploration

相关：美国总统们的太空探索愿景

Trump's comments, which closed a nearly two-hour speech to Congress, echoed his past calls to send astronauts to Mars on the campaign trail. He also celebrated the space feats of SpaceX and its founder Elon Musk during his election night victory speech in November, and hailed the Red Planet again during his inauguration, when he said the United States would pursue its "manifest destiny into the stars."

特朗普这段为时近两小时的国会演讲的结束语，呼应了他曾在竞选期间多次提出的将宇航员送往火星的倡议。早在11月胜选演讲时，他就盛赞过SpaceX公司及其创始人埃隆·马斯克的太空壮举，而在就职典礼上，他再次提及这颗红色星球，宣称美国将追求"驶入群星的天定命运"。

Musk, who is overseeing dramatic federal cost-cutting efforts for Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), attended Tuesday night's speech and waved as Trump recognized him for his DOGE efforts. The SpaceX CEO has long said sending astronauts to Mars is a primary goal for his spaceflight company. SpaceX currently flies NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station and is building the giant Starship megarocket to land Artemis astronauts on the moon by 2027.

马斯克当晚出席了这场演讲——作为特朗普政府效率部(DOGE)大幅削减联邦开支计划的总负责人，当特朗普对其工作成果表示认可时，他向全场挥手致意。这位SpaceX首席执行官长期以来一直将宇航员登陆火星列为其航天公司的首要目标。SpaceX目前不仅承担着运送NASA宇航员往返国际空间站的任务，并且正在建造巨型"星舰"，以期在2027年前实现"阿尔忒弥斯计划"的载人登月任务。

Related: The American flag in space — In photos

相关：太空中的美国国旗——照片

During Tuesday night's speech, Trump also called on Congress to approve the funding needed for a new missile defense shield to defend the country against future threats.

在周二晚上的演讲中，特朗普还呼吁国会批准建立新型导弹防御系统所需资金，以应对未来国家安全威胁。

"As commander in chief, my focus is on building the most powerful military of the future," he told Congress. "As a first step, I am asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art golden dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland, all made in the U.S.A."

"作为总司令，我的首要任务是打造未来最强大的军队，"特朗普向国会表示，"第一步，我要求国会拨款建造最先进的金顶导弹防御系统来保卫我们的家园——所有部件都将是美国制造。"

Such a missile defense system could be similar to the Iron Dome system Israel uses to defend against incoming ballistic missiles. Trump said a new "golden dome" system for the United States would realize the missile defense goals of the so-called "Star Wars" program proposed by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

这种导弹防御系统可能类似于以色列用于拦截弹道导弹的铁穹系统。特朗普表示，美国的新型"金顶"系统将实现罗纳德·里根总统在上世纪80年代提出的"星球大战"计划的导弹防御目标。

"Ronald Reagan wanted to do it long ago, but the technology just wasn’t there, not even close. But now we have the technology. It’s incredible, actually," Trump said. "This is a very dangerous world. We should have it."

特朗普表示："罗纳德·里根很久以前就想实现这个目标，但当时的技术根本不成熟，甚至差得远呢。但现在我们拥有了这项技术——说实话这太不可思议了。这是个非常危险的世界，我们必须拥有这项技术。"