This Joint Resolution will establish July 20^th as the National Space Exploration Day Holiday, in time for the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing in 2019.  

116th CONGRESS 

X SESSION

H.J. RES. XXX

To designate July 20th “Space Exploration Day Holiday”

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Xxxxx xx, 2019

JOINT RESOLUTION

To designate July 20th as “Space Exploration Day Holiday”.

Whereas President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, before a joint session of Congress on May 25th, 1961, declared that “this nation should commit itself, to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth;” and

Whereas on July 20, 1969, the World’s attention was riveted on the historic achievement of the first landing, footsteps, and exploration of our Moon; and

Whereas the nine-day mission of Apollo 11 kept the world spellbound from its July 16^th launch through its July 24^th splash down, securing its place among the epic voyages of human history with those of Magellan, Drake, Columbus and others; and

Whereas United States National Space Policy provides for a United States-led, integrated program with commercial and international partners for a human return to the Moon, followed by missions to Mars and beyond; and Whereas the purpose of the United States space program is, and has always been, the peaceful exploration of space for the benefit of all humanity; and Whereas the United States space program has provided immense scientific and technological benefits affecting a multitude of aspects of 21st century life for all humanity; and

Whereas the United States space program has provided immense scientific and technological benefits affecting a multitude of aspects of 21^st Century life for all humanity; and

Whereas the United States space program, through otherworldly programs such as Apollo, Viking, Voyager, Cassini-Huygens, Spirit, Opportunity, New Horizons and other missions to the planets, the Space Shuttle, the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Space Station and other great space efforts, have provided our Nation with unparalleled scientific and technological leadership in the space, aeronautics, medical, and engineering sciences; and

Whereas the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the American aerospace industry and educational institutions throughout the Nation contribute enormously to our Nation’s intellectual capacity through research and development in support of the space program, and add great strength to the United States economy; and

Whereas the space program and America’s aerospace industry engage the best and the brightest minds that mirror the scientific and technical skill and quality of the highest order and the finest in American character– sacrifice, ingenuity inventiveness, commitment and our unrelenting spirit of adventure; and

Whereas, we also honor the over 400,000 patriots, from government, industry and academia, whose exemplary efforts put our astronauts on the Moon, and recognize the millions of private sector jobs those efforts created as a result of the technological challenges they overcame to bring Project Apollo to fruition; and

Whereas the same spirit of adventure and engineering excellence that landed our Apollo space pioneers on the Moon may be applied to all noble pursuits involving peace, brotherhood, courage, unity of the human spirit and the exploration of new frontiers; and

Whereas, as a Nation, it is important to mobilize and invigorate American appreciation and enthusiasm for space, to advance science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education through the excitement of space exploration, and to inspire today’s and future generations to build upon the accomplishments of our early space pioneers so they may reach new milestones of human achievement; and

Whereas humankind will continue to explore, expand, and settle the new frontier of space with American leadership, courage, and values for the benefit of future spacefaring generations and for life on earth; now, therefore be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that July 20^th will now and forever be designated  as “National Space Exploration Day,” a non-paid commemorative holiday.

The President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe “National Space Exploration Day” and the period July 16th  through 24th as the Apollo Space Observance, with appropriate ceremonies, celebrations and activities commemorating one of the greatest scientific and technological achievements of our time so we may inspire new generations to aspire to ever loftier future space pioneering goals.

PROPOSED

PRESIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE ORDER

FOR SPACE EXPLORATION DAY 2019

Presidential Proclamation:
National Space Exploration Day, 2019 –
A Non-Paid Holiday

By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

On National Space Exploration Day, we commemorate and celebrate the anniversary of one of the greatest achievements of modern civilization, the first human landing on another world– our Moon. In what was perhaps the greatest –peaceful- technological achievement of the twentieth century, the moon landing was not only a definitive demonstration of American technical prowess to a world divided between freedom and tyranny and embroiled in a superpower Cold War, it also clearly demonstrated what this great “free” nation could accomplish, in short order, if American imagination, inspiration, and inventiveness are harnessed and bipartisan political will is united around a nationally worthy and galvanizing objective. A triumph of American industrial capability and ingenuity, we recognize the historic July 20th, 1969 flight of Apollo 11, the pinnacle achievement of our early space exploration efforts, an epic journey for the ages, and along with all the missions of Project Apollo, the pathfinder for humanity’s future exploration and space settlement ambitions.

 
We also acknowledge and honor the over 400,000 American aerospace professionals who made Projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo such great successes and acknowledge that the technological advances of all of our early space efforts, and the pioneers that made them happen, laid the foundation for millions of U.S. private sector jobs in today’s economy and helped ignite the global space economy, currently valued at over $380 billion worldwide, with an anticipated growth to over $1 trillion in the 2040s.
We also recognize the inspirational significance of space travel and the positive affect our early space efforts had on our youth and on the collective American spirit because today it is important to once again mobilize and invigorate American appreciation and enthusiasm for space, to advance science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education through the excitement of space exploration, and to inspire today’s and future generations to build upon the accomplishments of our Apollo and early space pioneers so they may reach new milestones of human achievement and push new boundaries for human existence into and beyond our solar neighborhood.

 
Today, as we near the 50th anniversary Apollo 11’s landing on the moon, we recognize that space is an integral part of our success as a modern competitive Nation, uniquely tied to our country’s industries, academia, defense, culture and economy. And because of what we have begun, humankind will continue to explore, expand, and settle the frontier of space with American leadership, courage, and values for the benefit of future spacefaring generations and for life back here on planet Earth.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim July 20, 2019, National Space Exploration Day, a non-paid holiday of the same order and official federal status as Flag Day, to commemorate and celebrate the anniversary of the first landing on the Moon; one of the great defining events in human history. I also proclaim that July 16 – 24, 2019 is hereby designated as the Apollo Space Observance, to commemorate and celebrate the nine-day duration of the Apollo 11 lunar mission, from launch date to splashdown; one of the most captivating and globally enthralling periods in human history. I encourage all Americans, and America’s aerospace industry, to observe National Space Exploration Day and the Apollo Space Observance by recognizing the dominant role that space technologies now play in our daily lives, by acknowledging space’s growing importance to our modern culture and our country’s economy and defense, and by expressing our deep appreciation and gratitude to our courageous astronauts; authentic American heroes, our aerospace engineers, and all those in the labor force whose work maintains American preeminence in space, by nurturing our pioneering spirit, and securing an American leadership role in the creation of a spacefaring civilization.

 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-third.

Donald J. Trump