HOUSTON — Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday announced the launch of the Texas Space Commission with local, state and industry leaders at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
"Space and space exploration is a rapidly advancing frontier," Abbott said. "It's a greenfield for advanced communications and technology, for artificial intelligence, for robotics, for biotechnology, for supply chain solutions and so much more real-life applications."
Abbott was flanked by Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, Rep. Greg Bonnen and Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche, along with other leaders.
The governor said members of the commission will be tasked with advancing the field of space exploration and using those applications to further improve life on Earth.
"They will encourage the development of emerging technologies, promote economic development for space, aeronautics and aviation, guide research into space exploration all across our state, help to develop workforce training needed to return to the moon and to eventually reach Mars, and they will cultivate the infrastructure needed to establish spaceports and so much more," Abbott said of the commission. "Texas will be the launchpad for Mars."
Phelan said the decision on who to appoint to the commission was one of the most difficult he's had to make.
"Individuals trying to be appointed to this commission came from all over the state and some of the most highly qualified individuals that I've ever seen," Phelan said.
Here's who was appointed to the commission:
- Gwen Griffin - CEO of Griffin Communications Group
- Kathy Lueders - General Manager of Starbase at SpaceX
- John Shannon - VP of Exploration Systems at the Boeing Company
- Sarah Ann Duggleby - CEO and co-founder of Venus Aerospace Corp
- Kirk Shireman - VP of Lunar Exploration Campaigns at Lockheed Martin
- Evan Loomis - Co-founder of ICON, general partner in Overmatch Ventures, a venture partner for Audere Capital LLC, and an adjunct professor for Texas A&M University
- Heather Wilson, Ph.D. - President of the University of Texas at El Paso
- Nancy Currie-Gregg, Ph.D. - Director of Texas A&M Space Institute
- Brad Morrison - Founder and CEO of Atlantis Industries
Closing out the media briefing, the governor issued a challenge to Texas' colleges and universities.
"It is time that our premier universities that are so closely connected to this incredible program here, as well as the other private companies around the state of Texas, that they have a launchpad moment themselves to advance education," Abbott said. "We have the chancellor from Texas A&M here today. My challenge to him, which will be made to other universities in the state of Texas also, let's have a space race unto itself in the education sector with our universities competing to be who will be first to have a degree program, undergraduate and maybe post-undergraduate, in space engineering."
During his visit, Abbott also toured mission control and spoke with native Texan and NASA Astronaut Loral O'Hara through the International Space Station feed, NASA said.