Trump directive instructs NASA to pursue US-led trips to moon, Mars

WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (KUNA) -- President Donald Trump signed a space policy directive Monday instructing NASA to pursue manned extraterrestrial exploration - including returning Americans to the moon and placing them on Mars.
The US will work with other nations and private industry to return astronauts to the moon, "developing the technology and means for manned exploration of Mars and other destinations in our solar system," said a statement released by the White House after Trump signed the directive.
"Under the new Space Policy Directive, the United States will help drive the burgeoning domestic space industry, bring new knowledge from the cosmos and spur incredible technology," the statement said.
After the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011, the US "has been forced to rely on Russian rockets at the cost of USD 70 million per seat," the statement said.
"In the coming years the United States will launch astronauts on an American-made rocket and crew system, the Space Launch System and Orion crew vehicle, and multiple American companies will provide the Pentagon with American engines and rockets to launch national security payloads," the statement said.
During the White House directive signing ceremony, Trump said the action "marks an important step in returning American astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972 for long-term exploration and use.
"This time we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprint, we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars and perhaps, someday, to many worlds beyond. This directive will ensure America's space program once again leads and inspires all of humanity," Trump said. (end) rm.sd