WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump directed NASA on Monday to send Americans to the Moon for the first time since 1972, in order to prepare for future trips to Mars. “This time we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprint,” Trump said at a White House ceremony as he signed the new space policy directive. However, it steered clear of the most divisive and thorny issues in space exploration: budgets and timelines. The last time US astronauts visited the Moon was during the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the newly revitalised National Space Council, have previously vowed to explore the Moon again but offered few details.

Source: Pakistan Today December 12, 2017 02:37 UTC