Updated at 12:23 p.m.: Vice President Mike Pence announced in Huntsville on Tuesday that America now has a vision to return astronauts to the surface of the moon within the next five years.

Pence says it is the policy of this administration to return astronauts to the surface of the moon in the next five years. The first woman and the next man on the moon will be American astronauts, Pence says. — lee roop (@leeroop) March 26, 2019

Pence’s voice rose for emphasis as he made the announcement during a speech at a Space Council meeting in the historic Saturn V Hall at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

Pence said with NASA’s giant SLS rocket and Orion space capsule fully funded by the Trump administration, the space agency’s objective is to land a man on the moon within five years.

The last astronauts walked on the moon in 1972.

Speaking just outside the gates of Redstone Arsenal, home of the Marshall Space Flight Center, Pence celebrated the work of Huntsville’s rocket engineers and promised they had a prominent role in future American space travel.

“We are committed to Marshall,” Pence said.

Pence mentioned that China landed an unmanned spacecraft on the dark side of the moon last year, the first such landing out of earth’s view. The U.S. must re-establish itself as a worldwide leader in space travel, Pence said.

“The rules and values of space will be established by the first ones to get there,” Pence said, adding that it is America’s challenge to make sure those values are ours.

To realize the vision of returning to the moon, NASA must make changes, Pence said.

“NASA must transform itself into a leaner, more accountable” organization, Pence said, adding that NASA as now composed is not capable of meeting the goal.

Some of those changes NASA may face concern the emergence of commercial rockets. If a commercial rocket or lunar lander is ready, NASA has to have the authority and willingness to use those vehicles, Pence said.

Original story: Vice President Mike Pence arrived at Huntsville International Airport on a blustery Tuesday morning, greeting supporters on the tarmac before a series of meetings at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center about the future of American space travel.

"Hey everybody," Pence shouted to about 50 invited guests at the airport shortly after touching down at 9:48 a.m.

Pence was formally greeted at the steps of the plane by Alabama Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, and Madison County Commission Chair Dale Strong. Pence was accompanied by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao.

Pence met with the invited guests on the tarmac, posing for pictures and signing autographs for about 10 minutes before boarding his limousine for the high-speed journey down I-565 to the state's top tourist attraction.

Among the invited guests at the airport were longtime state and local Republican official Elbert Peters, Frances Taylor, the Alabama representative on the National Federation of Republican Women, Madison County Republican Party executive chair Brad Taylor and Madison County District Judge Linda Coats.

There was one supporter wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap and a child decked out in an orange NASA astronaut flight suit among the invited guests.

Upon arrival at the rocket center, Pence entered the Education Resource Center for private meetings in advance of his formal remarks at the Space Council meeting in the Saturn V Hall of the Davidson Center for Space Exploration.

Local officials at the space council meeting included Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Madison Mayor Paul Finley and an array of state legislators. Also in attendance was former NASA Acting Administrator and Marshall Space Flight Center Robert Lightfoot.

Following the space council meeting, Pence is expected to meet with children attending Space Camp this week at the rocket center before departing. Chao, Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and NASA historian and author Homer Hickham are also expected to join Pence on the Space Camp tour.