Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Assaults on paramedics hit 5yr high
programme as he looks to fulfil a campaign pledge.
A signing ceremony for the directive included former lunar astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Harrison Schmitt and current astronaut Peggy Whitson, whose 665 days in orbit is more than any other American and any other woman.
The ceremony also featured a Moon rock 3.8billion years old collected by Schmitt’s Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
Mr Trump said he was taking a giant
analysts believe this was prompted as much by a desire to lay claim to the Moon’s natural resources as it has to do with scientific endeavour and exploration.
While there will be many problems to overcome if these resources are to be exploited, a similar situation presented itself to explorers almost 500 years ago.
They set out for the New World across step toward “reclaiming America’s proud destiny in space”.
He added: “And space has so much to do with so many other applications, including a military application,” without explaining exactly what he meant.
In approving the policy, Mr Trump abandoned what had been a goal of his predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama, who in 2010 backed a plan to send humans to a near-earth asteroid. White
an uncharted ocean in rickety ships with almost no navigational aids in search of gold – but the end result was endless colonial wars as the great powers fought over the new-found wealth.
But before the US can get back to the Moon Nasa will have to develop its Space Launch System rocket, the first take-off of which is scheduled for late next year.
House spokesman Hogan Gidley said: “The President listened to the National Space Council’s recommendations and he will change our nation’s human spaceflight policy to help America become the driving force for the space industry, gain new knowledge from the cosmos, and spur incredible technology.”
US astronauts made six Moon landings in the 1960s and 1970s.
The first took place on July 20, 1969, when Apollo 11 landed safely and Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were the first to walk on the planet. And it was Armstrong who famously told mission control: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
The crew spent more than 21 hours on the planet – collecting samples and conducting experiments. While Mr Trump may want Americans to return to the Moon he doesn’t have a rocket capable of getting them there and developing one could take many years. Nasa said initial funding for the new policy would be included in its budget request for financial year 2019.
The agency added: “We look forward to supporting the President’s directive strategically aligning our work to return humans to the Moon, travel to Mars and opening the deeper solar system beyond.” THE number of physical assaults on paramedics in the North-west is at a five-year high.
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said staff in the Western Trust area have been targeted 21 times.
Employees have also been verbally abused on 19 occasions in 2017.
NIAS chief Shane Devlin described the figures as unacceptable and called for custodial sentences.
He told Radio Foyle there were a range of measures in place to cut the risks, but ultimately crews were forced into “environments that cannot be controlled”.
He added: “In many cases people will be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.”