President Trump speaks after signing the NASA authorization bill. (Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto Agency)President Trump just signed a bill authorizing $19.5 billion in funding for NASA — the first such authorization bill for the space agency in seven years. He noted that the passage of the last NASA authorization bill in 2010 was fairly chaotic, since it involved ending the Constellation program that would have sent astronauts to the moon. [Trump wants to kill NASA office popular with Congress, astronauts and kids]Now, NASA's retired astronauts will receive lifetime health care for all space flight-related issues. [Science and medicine leaders say Trump budget would be dire for U.S.]But that means NASA is looking for other “intermediate” stops on the path from Earth to Mars.

Source: Washington Post March 21, 2017 20:05 UTC