Axios

The Trump administration's outer space vision is a commercial paradise, where private innovators colonize the low Earth orbit and help the government send Americans to Mars.

What's new: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC Thursday morning that the next big step in commercializing space is to turn the moon into "a kind of gas station for outer space."

The number of hotline calls reporting suicide attempts in Puerto Rico nearly tripled after Hurricane Maria hit the region last September. The suicide rate is now the highest it's been in four years, following a historic low in 2016, according to data from Puerto Rico's Department of Health and reporting by El Nuevo Dia.

Why it matters: It will take Puerto Rico years to fully recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria — it's already taken several months just to restore power and provide clean water to most of the island. Julio Santana Mariño, a psychology professor at Universidad Carlos Albizu, told Vox, "when you add the stress of more than five months without power, without food, living patterns change ... it makes it harder for people to manage daily life."

Vice President Mike Pence, the chair of the newly reconvened National Space Council, outlined President Trump's space strategy at the council's second meeting Wednesday. Pence said that for companies looking to commercialize low Earth orbit, "the government will be a partner and customer, not a competitor."

Why it matters: SpaceX's successful launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket in early February put the spotlight on private companies who have stepped into the space race. Trump says he plans to send Americans back to the moon, and then onto Mars, and his administration hopes to accomplish these goals with the help of private industry.