WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump has signed a new space policy directive instructing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to send Americans to the moon after a gap of four and a half decades, followed by missions to Mars and beyond.
Representatives of Congress and the National Space Council joined Apollo astronaut Jack Schmitt and current NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson at White House Monday for the president's signing of Space Policy Directive 1.
The new national space policy provides for a U.S.-led, integrated program with private sector partners for a human return to the Moon, and will lay the foundation for eventual human exploration of Mars.
'The directive I am signing today will refocus America's space program on human exploration and discovery,' said the President 'This time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprints -- we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars, and perhaps someday, to many worlds beyond,' he added.
The policy grew from a unanimous recommendation by the new National Space Council, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence, in October. In addition to the direction to plan for human return to the Moon, the policy also ends NASA's existing effort to send humans to an asteroid.
On July 20, 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon, making 'one giant leap for mankind.' America, the only country to successfully send manned missions to the Moon, has sent 12 astronauts to walk on the Moon.
In July 2011, the United States retired the Space Shuttle program, forcing them to rely on Russian rockets, at the cost of $70 million per seat.
The United States has an ambitious plan in the coming years to launch astronauts on an American-made rocket and crew system, the Space Launch System and Orion crew vehicle. Multiple American companies will provide the Pentagon with American engines and rockets to launch national security payloads.
India's Mars Orbiter Mission, called Mangalyaan, is orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014.
At $74m, this mission is staggeringly cheap by Western standards.
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