President Donald Trump wants to make space great again.
With legendary space program members Buzz Aldrin, Peggy Whitson and Harrison “Jack” Schmidt looking on, the president signed a directive Monday which aims to send astronauts to the moon … and, the hope is, eventually to Mars.
Trump’s directive follows recommendations from the National Space Council, which is overseen by Vice President Mike Pence. The group, originally formed in 1989 during President George H.W. Bush’s administration, was disbanded in 1993 under President Clinton, but Trump re-established it this year.
NASA is still without its own space transport vehicle after ending the space shuttle program six years ago. The U.S. currently relies on Russia to bring astronauts to the International Space Station, at a cost of $70 million per seat. NASA is expected to switch to the American-made Space Launch System and Orion Crew vehicle in the coming years, and private companies — like SpaceX and Blue Origin — have already released plans to travel to the moon.
The U.S. remains the only country to successfully send manned missions to the moon, but Americans haven’t walked on its surface since the Apollo 17 mission 45 years ago.
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