President Donald Trump arrives speaks to service members at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in San Diego. Associated Press 
 
 While speaking to US Marines in San Diego on Tuesday, President Donald Trump suggested creating a branch of the military for space. 
 
 "My new national strategy for space recognizes that space is a war-fighting domain just like the land, air and sea," Trump said at Miramar Air Station. "We may even have a Space Force." 
 
 "You know, I was saying it the other day cause we're doing a tremendous amount of work in space," Trump said. "I said 'maybe we need a new force, we'll call it the space force.' And I was not really serious, and then I said 'what a great idea, maybe we'll have to do that.'" 
 
 "That could happen, that could be the big breaking story," Trump said. "Look at all those people back there," Trump said, pointing to the media in the background. "Look at them...Ohhhh, that fake news." 
 
 While Trump appears to have wandered into the issue in his Tuesday speech, the idea is not new. 
 
 The Congressional Strategic Forces Subcommittee even proposed creating such a branch last July, which they called Space Corps. But the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act that passed last November actually banned it. 
 
 The proposed Space Corps would have fallen under the Air Force branch. 
 
 Republican Mike Rogers, the chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, however, said in February that he expects such a force to be built in three to five years, according to Defense News. 
 
 Supporters of the Space Corps have argued that it's needed to counter Russia and China's desire to build anti-satellite weaponry. 

 Tweet with a location 
 
 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more 

 President Donald Trump voiced support for creating a “space force” to bolster U.S. defenses, appearing to back a proposal opposed by officials in the White House and the Department of Defense. | Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images Trump boosts ‘space force’ idea, says U.S. will reach Mars ‘very soon’ 
 
 President Donald Trump predicted on Tuesday that the U.S. would reach Mars “very soon” and backed the idea of creating a militaristic “space force,” seemingly expressing support for a measure that faced opposition from officials in his own administration. 
 
 Touting recent technological advancements, Trump forecast that “very soon we’re going to Mars” — a feat that he said wouldn’t have been possible had Hillary Clinton prevailed in the 2016 election. 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 “You wouldn’t have been going to Mars if my opponent won, that I can tell you. You wouldn't even be thinking about it,” Trump quipped while speaking to service members at a Marine Corps air station in Miramar, California. 
 
 The president also voiced support for creating a “space force” to bolster U.S. defenses, appearing to back a proposal opposed last year by officials in the White House and the Department of Defense. 
 
 Sign up for Morning Trade A speed read on global trade news — weekday mornings, in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. 
 
 “My new national strategy for space recognizes that space is a warfighting domain, just like the land, air and sea,” Trump said. “We may even have a space force — develop another one, space force. We have the Air Force, we’ll have the space force.” 
 
 The House Armed Services Committee approved a measure in June to include language to create a U.S. Space Corps, as part of the Air Force, in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. But the measure faced opposition from top officials in Trump’s own White House and Pentagon. 
 
 Defense Secretary Jim Mattis came out against the measure in July, issuing a rare statement in support of a proposal to remove language on the space corps from the defense budget for 2018. 
 
 “At a time when we are trying to integrate the department’s joint warfighting functions, I do not wish to add a separate service that would likely present a narrower and even parochial approach to space operations,” Mattis reportedly wrote in a letter to Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), who led House efforts on the matter. 
 
 A White House official in July told CNN that creating a space corps was “premature at this time.” 
 
 Trump marveled the achievements of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who has said he’s “optimistic” that his company will be able to launch test flights to Mars by as early as 2019. 
 
 “I don't know if you saw last with Elon — with the rocket boosters where they're coming back down,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. “To me, that was more amazing than watching the rocket go up because I’ve never seen that before. Nobody has seen it before, where they’re saving the boosters. They came back without wings or without anything, they landed so beautifully.” 
 
 But Musk, speaking at South by Southwest on Monday, acknowledged that there were still technical hurdles that needed to be overcome before humans could successfully land on the planet. 
 
 “It’s difficult, dangerous, good chance you will die, excitement for those who survive, that kind of thing,” he said. 
 

– SpaceX founder Elon Musk cut through the excitement surrounding future travel to Mars Monday, noting "it's difficult, dangerous," and there's a "good chance you will die." A day later, President Trump appeared more optimistic, claiming Americans will reach Mars "very soon" and touting plans for a potential "space force" like in Star Wars, Politico reports. "My new national strategy for space recognizes that space is a warfighting domain, just like the land, air, and sea," Trump told an audience at a Marine Corps air station in San Diego on Tuesday. "I was saying it the other day ... 'Maybe we need a new force, we'll call it the Space Force.' And I was not really serious," he continued, per Business Insider. "Then I said, 'What a great idea, maybe we'll have to do that.'" The idea isn't Trump's. A "Space Corps" was first proposed last July by Congress' Strategic Forces Subcommittee. But it was left out of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act passed in November, with White House officials and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis speaking against it. Trump also seemed to take credit for advancements that could allow for flights to Mars as early as 2019. "You wouldn't have been going to Mars if my opponent won, that I can tell you," Trump said, referring to his 2016 election rival Hillary Clinton. Trump later tweeted it was a "great honor" to address military members. In what CNN's Jim Acosta refers to as "baffling," Marine Corps was spelled "Marine Core" in a version of the tweet, since deleted.