President Trump vows to send Americans back to the moon

65 Comments

“At a time when China is working on an ambitious lunar program, President Donald Trump vowed on Monday that the United States will remain the leader in space exploration as he began a process to return Americans to the moon,” Steve Holland reports for Reuters.

“‘We are the leader and we’re going to stay the leader, and we’re going to increase it many fold,’ Trump said in signing ‘Space Policy Directive 1’ that establishes a foundation for a mission to the moon and eventually, to Mars,” Holland reports. “Trump’s signing ceremony for the directive included former lunar astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Jack Schmitt and current astronaut Peggy Whitson, whose 665 days in orbit is more time in space than any other American and any other woman worldwide.”

Holland reports, “Trump said he was taking a giant step toward ‘reclaiming America’s proud destiny in space.'”

Read more in the full article here.

“Trump said NASA would not only return to the lunar surface but use it as a stepping stone to explore even deeper into the cosmos,” Christian Davenport reports for The Washington Post. “‘The directive I’m signing today will refocus America’s space program on human exploration and discovery,’ he said. ‘It 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.'”

 
“The policy directive marks the official reversal of the Obama administration’s plan to visit an asteroid and fly to Mars by the mid-2030s,” Davenport reports. “It also makes it clear that the Trump administration wants to explore the moon in partnership with the private sector and other countries. The directive says that ‘the moon is of interest to international partners and is within reach of America’s private space industry.'”

“But presidents have promised Apollo-like ambitions for generations, and Trump is now the third consecutive Republican president to vow a return to the moon,” Davenport reports. “While Trump offered scant specifics about how NASA would return to the moon, or how much such an endeavor would cost, the difference this time is that his administration would attempt to leverage the growing private sector for the mission. In addition to Moon Express, several commercial companies, including the United Launch Alliance, SpaceX and Blue Origin have announced plans to return to the moon… Some think they will be the key that could give Trump a space triumph.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Hopefully, the 3rd time’s the charm!

As we wrote back in February 2016:

A U.S. President with true leadership abilities would immediately boost NASA’s budget ten-fold (at the very least) and patiently explain to the naysayers why it is important to push the envelope and that NASA’s budget, even with a ten-fold increase, is barely a drop in the ocean.

There hasn’t been a U.S. President with a vision of the future beyond his own term(s) and the nu… guts to stand by his beliefs in the face of PITA whiners who want every single last cent to blow on wasteful, redundant boondoggles (which somehow magically materialize into waterfront homes for lobbyists) since… we can’t remember when.

Imagine a Steve Jobs as U.S. President 30, 40 years ago. People would be living on the moon and Mars today with outposts on Europa.

It’s been 43 years, 1 month, and 28 days since man last set foot on the moon. Every person on earth should be profoundly embarrassed by that fact.

“The United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward, and so will space.” — President John F. Kennedy

“There are so many benefits to be derived from space exploration and exploitation; why not take what seems to me the only chance of escaping what is otherwise the sure destruction of all that humanity has struggled to achieve for 50,000 years?” — Isaac Asimov

“Earth is too small a basket for mankind to keep all its eggs in.” — Robert A. Heinlein

“It’s too bad, but the way American people are, now that they have all this capability, instead of taking advantage of it, they’ll probably just piss it all away.” —  President Lyndon B. Johnson, overheard during a visit to the Apollo 7 crew in training, 1968.

—

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

SEE ALSO:
NASA goes social to take its case directly to the people – February 10, 2016
How NASA landed a Mac on Mars using MacBook Pros – August 14, 2012
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity essentially has same brain as Apple’s Bondi Blue iMac G3 – August 6, 2012
NASA control room packed with Apple Macs during Mars Curiosity rover landing – August 6, 2012

65 Comments

    2. a manned program to moon & beyond is nonsense as was AZ biosphere. just to say we did it is no rationale, and to perpetrate myths of innate human need such as columbus is self serving and misguided as is colonization. develop space propulsion which approximates the speed of light and I’m on board.

      Reply

      2. That’s like saying that you don’t build the boat, because you will never get it across the ocean. Of course not, but you learn from it and eventually have enough knowledge to take a shot at it and succeed. If you think you can’t do something, you will find reasons to never try.

        Reply

    1. Amazing how many of the so-called “scientific-Left (and went thataway)” shit on Republicans when we push for REAL science but can’t wait to slap the Boy Blunder Obama on the ass for gutting space research and sending research money to slush funds.

      What losers the Left(behind) have become. Really.

      Reply

      2. Because we know it’s not the 60’s anymore and know that robotic probes are not only a better cheaper, but safer and far more cost effective. Voyager is still out there sending data, Neil Armstrong is an amazing brave man, but today, there is no sane reason to put him in harms way.

        Reply

        1. There are two types of people when it comes to space exploration: Those that want to know what’s out there, and those that want to go. Both need to be satisfied.

          There always has to be robotic trips to explore safely what is out there in order to find a safe way to travel, but at the same time traveling there is a whole other science, so if we wait till we find a place to go, how will we know HOW to go?

          This is NOT a simple issue solved by transporters or hyperspace jumps but a complex test of the human anatomy and how to keep it fit during travel.

          Of course we have to go back to the moon and establish a base for deep space travel, mining, and possibly to launch missiles at Earth-bound space debris but more importantly to learn HOW to build colonies as a test site to send to Mars.

        2. yes, but you don’t put the cart before the horse. We sent actual people into space in the 60’s more out of necessity and political reasons than scientific. It was expensive and unmanned travel could have provided the same scientific results.
          Again, look at Voyager, look at Hubble, look at all the other unmanned space probes and telescopes cost and results vs the race to the moon.
          I do agree that the moon will eventually become a military and commercial industrial site, In due time,when it becomes economically and technologically feasible. For now, it is something better for probes, corporations and entrepreneurs

        3. Nobody put the cart before the horse. An entire stable of horses have been out there for decades waiting for us to follow. It won’t be next year when they liftoff, maybe even a decade to develop, and Voyager ain’t gonna build a colony by itself.

          I think you are looking at this more from a political view that scientific.

        4. who needs a colony in space? for what? We need it the moon for science, industry and most likely military. But it’s like saying we NEED a colony in death valley ot antartica or the bottom of the ocean. Why? That’s nonsense. We need to study these places of course, but NEED a colony? That’s just utter BS.

        6. i was going to say the same thing to you. You are myopic and can’t see the bigger picture. There is so much more but you focus on wasting money on the simplistic rather than the far far bigger picture.

        7. You know, don’t you, that the original moon landing could not have happened using a robot – or even remote piloting – to do it? It needed not simply a human mind, but one with the reactions of America’s best test pilot, to overcome the unexpected difficulties and land Eagle in a safe, and entirely unanticipated, spot?

    1. Condensed From Wikipedia:
      The Apollo Guidance Computer was installed on board each Apollo Command Module (CM) and Lunar Module (LM). The computer’s performance is somewhere around that of the first generation of home computers from the late 1970s, such as the Apple II, TRS-80, and Commodore PET. The computer had 2048 words of erasable magnetic-core memory and 36 kilowords of read-only core rope memory. (Core uses tiny magnetic toroids (rings), the cores, through which wires are threaded to write and read information. )

      Reply

  12. We do need to establish colonies on the Moon, and on Mars, and beyond. For one thing, we need to strategically counter China’s land grabs. For another, we need a place to escape to, once the Earth becomes unliveable due to chemical and nuclear war and climate change. Granted, only privileged politicians and their entourages would make the great escape, but at least the human race would survive.

    Wait—I’m not sure a revived human race descended from politicians, sycophants, lawyers, and bimbos is a great idea after all. Is it too late to change my mind?

    Reply

  17. Decisions are also changing because of financial interests: there are not enough resources left on earth to get that many new electric cars. Batteries require more rare minerals, and those are quite “easy” to get on the moon’s surface.

    Reply

  18. 04 06 45 31 CC
    30 seconds.

    04 06 45 32 CDR (EAGLE)
    Forward drift?

    04 06 45 33 LMP (EAGLE)
    Yes.

    04 06 45 34 LMP (EAGLE)
    Okay.

    04 06 45 40 LMP (EAGLE)
    CONTACT LIGHT.

    04 06 45 43 LMP (EAGLE)
    Okay. ENGINE STOP.

    04 06 45 45 LMP (EAGLE)
    ACA – out of DETENT.

    04 06 45 46 CDR (EAGLE)
    Out of DETENT.

    04 06 45 47 LMP (EAGLE)
    MODE CONTROL – both AUTO. DESCENT ENGINE COMMAND OVERRIDE – OFF. ENGINE ARM – OFF.

    04 06 45 52 LMP (EAGLE)
    413 is in.

    04 06 45 57 CC
    We copy you down, Eagle.

    04 06 45 59 CDR (TRANQ)
    Houston, Tranquility Base here.

    04 06 46 04 CDR (TRANQ)
    THE EAGLE HAS LANDED.

    04 06 46 06 CC
    Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot.

    04 06 46 16 CDR (TRANQ)
    Thank you.

    04 06 46 18 CC
    You’re looking good here.

    04 06 46 23 CDR (TRANQ)
    Okay. We’re going to be busy for a minute.

    =====
    Buzz Aldrin then took communion. We go back to the moon because it’s there.

    Reply

  19. Thoughts
    1-Can we send Trump + Pence + Ryan + McConnell on a Mars mission? Maybe Elon will spot us a couple of seats.
    2-Routine access to orbit is now a commercial enterprise, as it should be. You can thank President Obama for making that decision. Most here will not, but he did the deed.
    3-We should not go to the Moon or Mars as a stunt. We should only go when we have a properly defined program with worthwhile goals and a definite return on investment. Those flights imply significant risk to life and a significant outlay of tax dollars- directly or indirectly.
    4-A modern version of the Space Shuttle with 2018 technology in a somewhat smaller size would be a great capability to invest in. The Old Shuttle’s Achilles Heel was the tile system used to manage heat for re-entry, but was the product of 1970’s technology. Imagine what could be done with the materials and fabrication available now.

    Here is a short video on the Boeing X37B operated by the USAF. A mini Shuttle without a crew that can fly itself. This is a DoD project so we can expect it to not be available to the civil space program, but the concept is interesting to say the least.

    Reply

    1. How about we send auramac and his band of PC Libtard thin skinned snowflakes that have no clue how to deal with real world problems. Instead wasting eight years of bland soundbite platitudes that fixed NOTHING and made problems worse …

      Reply

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