Trump Executive Order Will Send Americans Back to Moon, Eventually to Mars

President Trump will sign an Executive Order at 3:00 pm today (December 11, 2017) that will send Americans back to the Moon and eventually to Mars.  Today is the 45th anniversary of the day that Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison (Jack) Schmitt landed on the Moon, the last humans to do so.  Schmitt is expected to be at the event, which will be livestreamed on the White House website.

The full text of the White House statement released this morning is as follows:

“The President, today, will sign Space Policy Directive 1 (SPD-1) that directs the NASA Administrator to lead an innovative space exploration program to send American astronauts back to the Moon, and eventually Mars. Since the beginning of his Administration, President Trump has taken steps to refocus NASA on its core mission of space exploration by signing the NASA Transition Authorization Act, the INSPIRE Women Act, and an Executive Order on Reviving the National Space Council. The President listened to the National Space Council’s recommendations and he will change our nation’s human spaceflight policy to help America become the driving force for the space industry, gain new knowledge from the cosmos, and spur incredible technology.”—Hogan Gidley, Deputy White House Press Secretary

The event will be livestreamed at https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/president-trump-participates-signing-ceremony-space-policy-directive-%E2%80%93-1.

President Trump signaled his interest in NASA’s space programs earlier this year not only by signing the NASA Transition Authorization Act, but by reestablishing the White House National Space Council, which is chaired by Vice President Mike Pence. Pence has given several speeches in which he has made clear that returning humans to the Moon is a Trump Administration priority.

This breaking news story will be updated.