 Gingrich advocates the formation of a permanent manned lunar base by 2020, the presumed end of his 2nd presidential term, and has tried to introduce legislation in 1981, the Northwest Ordinance for Space, that would enable the moon colony to become the 51st state upon reaching a population of 13,000 residents.The colony concept was called an "ambitious goal" by Neil deGrasse Tyson who criticized its reliance on the private sector which Tyson describes as unwilling to solely fund such exploratory efforts.Tyson went on to explain that public/private efforts such as NASA partnering with private companies is already happening.