President Donald Trump directed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to send American astronauts back to the moon and eventually to Mars, shifting the agency's mission from the study of Earth.
"This is a giant step toward that inspiring future and toward reclaiming America's proud destiny in space," Trump said on Monday at a White House ceremony, where he signed the new NASA directive. "And space has to do with so many other applications, including a military application. So we are the leader and we're going to stay the leader and we're going to increase it many fold."
Deputy White House Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement that the new policy reflects recommendations from the National Space Council, a White House advisory panel Trump appointed earlier in the year. The White House didn't provide details about how NASA's work to return to the moon would be funded, or whether any current programs would be cut.
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