Trump wants NASA to send astronauts to the Moon — but how exactly?
President Donald Trump is officially directing NASA to send astronauts back to the Moon, as a pit stop to eventually send people to Mars. The move is part of a new order, Space Policy Directive-1, which Trump signed today during a very brief ceremony at the White House. The directive is meant to reorient NASA’s focus from the Red Planet to the Moon, at least in the short term, shifting away from the priorities set forth by the Obama administration.
The signing appropriately coincides with the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 17 landing, the last time humans ever landed on the Moon. At the event, Trump said the directive will re-establish American leadership in space, while creating jobs and enhancing US national security. “We’ll refocus...