Trump to send astronauts back to the moon, eventually Mars

US President Donald Trump signed his administration's first space policy directive on Monday, formally directing the US space agency NASA to send astronauts back to the moon and eventually Mars.

"The directive I'm signing today will refocus [the] American space program on human exploration and discovery," Trump said at a White House ceremony.

"It marks an important step in returning American astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972 for long-term exploration and use," he said. "This time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprint, we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars and perhaps some day to many worlds beyond."

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)