President Trump appeared to contradict his previous statements about space exploration, saying NASA should be looking beyond just the moon in its quest to explore outer space.
“For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon – We did that 50 years ago. They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!” Trump said in a Friday tweet.
For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon – We did that 50 years ago. They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2019
The syntax of the presidential tweet made unclear whether he was referring to moon exploration as being a subset of the larger goal to get to Mars, especially since Trump has previously expressed support for exploring the moon.
Trump tweeted just last month about how he wanted to send humans back to the moon.
“Under my Administration, we are restoring @NASA to greatness and we are going back to the Moon, then Mars. I am updating my budget to include an additional $1.6 billion so that we can return to Space in a BIG WAY!” Trump tweeted last month.
Under my Administration, we are restoring @NASA to greatness and we are going back to the Moon, then Mars. I am updating my budget to include an additional $1.6 billion so that we can return to Space in a BIG WAY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2019
Under the Trump administration, NASA has an ongoing “Moon to Mars” program, which looks to put humans back on the moon by 2024 and then use that as a segue to explore Mars.
“President Donald Trump has asked NASA to accelerate our plans to return to the Moon and to land humans on the surface again by 2024,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said. “This time, when we go to the Moon, we will stay. And then we will use what we learn on the Moon to take the next giant leap — sending astronauts to Mars.”
