Uh, Don, the moon isn’t part of Mars
President Trump cryptically suggested on Friday that the moon and Mars are one in a twisted tweet calling on NASA to refocus its goals.
“They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part),” he said.
Trump appears to be referring to NASA’s “Artemis” program that would return man to the moon by 2024 after more than 50 years. The program also proposes to take the next giant leap for mankind — a trip to Mars.
“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,” NASA administrator Jim Brindenstine said.
On Friday, NASA announced that private citizens can book a room on the International Space Station for $35,000 a night. A round-trip ticket will set travelers back a whopping $58 million, according to NASA’s chief financial officer Jeff DeWit.
The first visit expected to be as early as next year.
Vice President Mike Pence has also pushed for more lunar exploration.
“[We will] return American astronauts to the Moon within the next five years,” Pence told a National Space Council Meeting in March, Pence said.
Trump has also pushed for the establishment of a new arm of the military to focus on defense in outer space.
He sparked widespread ridicule, and some serious chiding from eye doctors, when he broke the rules and peered directly at the sun during a rare solar eclipse.