Houston, We Have A Problem: Trump Seems To Think The Moon Is Part Of Mars? - TPM

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.”

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