Ivanka Trump touring NASA's Johnson Space Center on Thursday

Ivanka Trump will be in Houston on Thursday for a tour of NASA's Johnson Space Center.

President Donald Trump's daughter will be accompanied by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

First, she will speak to crewmembers on the International Space Station, then tour mockups of the space station and the Orion spacecraft being built to take humans back to the moon for the first time in 50 years.

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The Houston center is home to the nation's astronaut corps, where human space flight research and training take place. It also is home to the International Space Station's mission operations and the Orion program.

Ivanka Trump will also meet with local high school students who are building robots with the assistance of NASA engineers for an international competition, called FIRST Robotics.

Since taking office last year, President Trump has pushed for the United States to return to the moon as a stepping stone toward Mars.

His $19.9 billion proposed budget for the next fiscal year tasks NASA with launching Americans around the moon in 2023. It also would set aside $504.2 million in the coming year to begin working on the foundation of a $2.7 billion Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway — basically a mini-space station orbiting the moon where astronauts could live and work.

Officials have said the gateway should be fully functional by 2026, with human missions to the lunar surface expected soon after.

Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.

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