President Donald Trump made a bold promise to America minutes after taking the Oath of Office: pledging that an American flag would be planted on Mars.

In his prepared remarks, Trump, a longtime backer of U.S.-led space exploration and exploitation, singled out Mars and left the moon hanging.

It’s a term used by astronomers to describe when Earth, Mars and the Sun align. When this happens, Earth sits directly between Mars and the Sun, positioning the red planet directly opposite of the Sun in the sky.

The Red Planet will be at its closest point to Earth, also known as perigee, on Jan. 12 and will be exactly opposite the sun on Jan. 15. It will be visible all night long because it will rise with the sunset and set with the sunrise.

The Red Planet reaches its best position all year this week on January 15. Here’s how and when to get out and see it.

During his inaugural address, Donald Trump said the United States would consider itself a growing nation under his presidency and he would bring the nation's flag "into new and beautiful horizons." Trump went on to say American astronauts would "plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars,

President Donald Trump set a bold new goal in his inauguration speech. He wants to go to Mars. Details are thin, but the aspiration should benefit Elon Musk’s SpaceX and a bevy of publicly traded commercial space stocks.

US President Donald Trump vowed Monday to "plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars" but made no mention of NASA's planned return to the Moon, heightening speculation about

Sky News host Danica De Giorgio says United States President Trump has vowed to be the “first commander and chief to put US astronauts on Mars”.

President Trump vowed to send astronauts to Mars during his second inaugural address. "We will pursue our Manifest Destiny into the stars," he said, promising to send astronauts to plant the American flag on Mars.