In Photos: President Donald Trump and NASA

Happy Birthday

Vice President Mike Pence cuts a cake presented to him on his 58th birthday while touring the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center, Wednesday, June 7, 2017 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The Vice President was at the space center to welcome America’s newest astronaut candidates, chosen from more than 18,300 applicants to carry the torch for future human space exploration. After completing two years of training, the new astronaut candidates could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and launching on deep space missions on NASA’s new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.

Pushing the Limits

Vice President Mike Pence (right) touched a piece of NASA equipment in the Orion clean room despite a "do not touch" sign. Sen. Marco Rubio (left) was also on the July 6 tour, led by Bob Cabana, the director of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

Pence and the Astronauts

Vice President Mike Pence, center, and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, left, and NASA astronaut Pat Forrester, right, walk out of the historic crew doors at Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Operations and Checkout Building on Thursday, July 6, 2017, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. These are the same doors that Apollo and space shuttle astronauts walked through on their way to the launch pad.

Encouraging NASA

Vice President Mike Pence addresses NASA employees, Thursday, July 6, 2017, at the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Vice President thanked employees for advancing American leadership in space, before going on a tour of the center that highlighted the public-private partnerships at KSC, as both NASA and commercial companies prepare to launch American astronauts from the multi-user spaceport.