Monday, November 21, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump wants to see Americans colonise the Moon


The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States has placed NASA at a crossroads because it could herald the return of American astronauts to the surface of the Moon. The former House speaker Newt Gingrich had suggested that the lunar colony would one day hold 13,000 settlers. It would probably qualify for statehood in the US.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 20 November 2016.
Observers of NASA and the American space program are of the opinion that if Trump appoints key Republican ally Newt Gingrich to a top position, the US may find itself leading international efforts to build a permanent base on the lunar surface. That would be a major stepping stone toward the ultimate goal of one day sending a manned mission to Mars.
Incidentally, President Obama has gone on record as saying that he supports putting a man on Mars by the year 2030. It may be noted that between 1969 and 1972, a total of 12 American astronauts had set foot on the moon and, since then, no one has come close. However, given the present scenario, Americans might be forced to return to the Moon in view of the increasing interest in manned lunar missions from rival space programs in Europe, China, Japan, and Russia.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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