President Donald Trump reeled off a Tweet Friday afternoon as mysterious as the dark side of the moon.
In it, he seems to state that the moon is part of Mars (TPM fact check: it is not).
For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon – We did that 50 years ago. They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2019
To make matters even murkier, Trump seemed pretty gung-ho about going to the moon just a month ago.
uh? pic.twitter.com/F4WUQn6vPn
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 7, 2019
It’s possible the President just meant that the moon is part of NASA’s mission to Mars. In December 2017 Trump signed a directive to send astronauts to the moon, with the goal of expanding the mission to Mars and potentially other parts of the solar system.
“The directive I am signing today will refocus America’s space program on human exploration and discovery,” Trump said of the directive. “It marks a first 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 footprints — we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars, and perhaps someday, to many worlds beyond.”
The President has long had a fascination with outer space, most recently asking Congress for $72.4 million to establish a sixth military branch called “Space Force.”
