"earlier this year, the administration along with congress, made a serious and bipartisan commitment to the manned exploration of space, laying the groundwork for the mission to mars, and enabling commercial space ventures to flourish, all of which will foster extraordinary economic growth and job creation throughout texas. advancing america's leadership in space is a critical endeavor, and i am excited and optimistic about the work that remains to be done as we work to open up the last frontier." read more... icymi: press coverage of sen. cruz's visit with vice president mike pence to johnson space center sen. cruz joined vice president mike pence, representatives brian babin (r-texas) and lamar smith (r-texas) and governor greg abbott for the astronaut candidate class of 2017 announcement at the johnson space center. 