Quote from: Rocket Science on 12/11/2017 03:10 pmThe usually "fiscally obsessed" Republicans seemed to have lost their way and with a president who doesn't care about debt, it will be interesting how this will pan out in these unusual times"...The previous Republican administration dramatically increased the national debt. While some Republicans are still concerned with the debt, the 21st century Republican Party as a whole gave up on being fiscally conservative. They give it lip service and try to cut Democrat favored programs, but they reduce revenue and increase the programs they like.That said, NASA already has a large budget and I doubt Congress will give them more money.
The usually "fiscally obsessed" Republicans seemed to have lost their way and with a president who doesn't care about debt, it will be interesting how this will pan out in these unusual times"...
I think the article jumps to conclusions a bit quicklyThe directive text according to the article says : “We shall lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system to bring new knowledge and opportunities. Beginning with missions beyond low Earth orbit, the United States will lead to return humans to the Moon for long term exploration followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations.”Nowhere it is said “to the Moon surface” in this alleged text. You can make the case that having extended stays at the Deep Space Gateway is “returning humans to the Moon”.
Text emphasis mine. Long Term Exploration can only mean the lunar surface. There is nowhere else in the cis-lunar vicinity *to explore*.Your reasoning would exclude the Martian surface when the sentence continues "followed by human missions to Mars".
Trump: we’re the leader and we’re going to stay the leader, and increase it many-fold.
Published on 11 Dec 2017Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot and National Space Council Executive Secretary Scott Pace comment on Space Policy Directive 1, signed Monday, Dec. 11, 2017, by President Trump at the White House. The policy calls on NASA to work with international and commercial partners to send humans to the Moon, with a horizon goal of sending astronauts to Mars.
List of attendees (from White House press office) at Trump signing ceremony for Space Policy Directive 1.