Trump Adds To NASA Budget, Approves Crewed Mission To Mars (nbcnews.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from NBC News: President Donald Trump signed a law on Tuesday authorizing funding for a crewed NASA mission to Mars. The new bill (S.442) adds a crewed mission to the red planet as a key NASA objective and authorizes the space agency to direct test human space flight programs that will enable more crewed exploration in deep space. The space agency has $19.5 billion in funding for the 2018 fiscal year, which starts this October. Trump had allocated $19.1 billion for NASA in his budget, which is slightly down from the current year, but still an improvement from the past decade, which saw the end of the space shuttle program. The commander in chief signed the bill surrounded by astronauts and his former Republican rivals, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who both sponsored the bill. Getting to Mars, though, isn't expected to happen during the Trump presidency. NASA has its sights set on getting to the red planet in the 2030s. In the near term, NASA plans to test its Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket, in addition to visiting an asteroid and redirecting a chunk of it into orbit around the moon. Astronauts could later visit the boulder and use the mission to test some of the tools needed for a Mars mission.

Comments

The devil needed an escape route

[shanen]

The devil is in the details.

You mean President Bannon told Herr #PresidentTweety to sign this because Bannon wants an escape plan after he finishes phucking up this planet?

At some point Trump is going to realize that most of his followers are just curious to see what stupid lie he's going to tweet next. Or maybe not. I keep being amazed by his mental density, so maybe I'm projecting my inability to learn (how not to be amazed) on his apparent inability to learn anything.

Re:The devil needed an escape route

[Anonymous Coward]

When did he lie about his inauguration? When did this happen? You need to stop listening to people with a vested interest in tearing down the President and talk to people who were there. The place was packed, it was in no way as empty as the media is trying to pretend. People do notice that the big white things in the photos are tents, right? To keep people warm? There are people INSIDE those tents. That's why it looks empty. If you talk to people who attended in the inauguration, it's clear that the thing was completely packed and there were no large empty spaces. Trump didn't lie about that. Trump is a straight shooter. I know people find it weird when politicians just tell the truth, but Trump does. Deal with it.

Re:Making NASA Great Again

[ganjadude]

well if that budget is simply getting rid of the "muslim outreach" obama made NASA do, nothing of value at NASA will have been lost.

sometimes cuts are good (even if i do think nasa deserves a few more billion a year)

Re:Racist Garbage

[Anonymous Coward]

Now now, I think it would be nice if they had a majority Muslim crew. Maybe a billion or two strong.

BYE

(oops NASA forgot supplies, return trip fuel and pointed them at the sun by accident...it's been a while and they are rusty)

Re:Confused

[Anonymous Coward]

I attended inaugurations in 2005, 2013, and 2017. The one in 2017 was second-biggest*, definitely bigger than 2013 (second Obama's).
So that's that, you are misinformed, buddy. Now ask yourself, what else are you misinformed on, and should therefore shut the fuck up about?

*yes, second biggest, despite shit weather, thug-lives-matter goons beating people up, etc. (yes, that's right. I can find you some youtube videos of thugs beating up people, and DC police doing nothing... Again ask yourself, what ELSE are you clueless about... are YOU still qualified to say anything about Trump?)

Re:inb4

[Anonymous Coward]

Presidents sometimes, when they're about to leave office, call for a mission to Mars. That way, it's not their responsibility, and they don't have to support it in any way - but if it does happen, they get a bit of the credit for inspiring it. Obama did it in 2016. Bush the Elder did it in 1989.

Trump, however, is doing something new: calling for a Mars mission within a few months of becoming President. That puts him in a position where he has to be the one to support it, for at least 4, probably 8 years - but he only gets a bit of the credit, not the majority of the glory, when the mission actually happens, another 5-or-so years down the line.

That looks like he's being more selfless, and less glory-seeking, than the average President.

Re:Making NASA Great Again

[mi]

if you want things you need to capitulate to what others want too

There you go begging the question again... I do not want "things" — except the defense from external enemies and internal criminals. These are the responsibilities of the government according to the Constitution since day one. Everything else — help for the poor, public education, retirement savings, mortgages, space exploration (except where militarily useful) — is mission creep.

The country can not survive without defense and maintaining law-and-order. Everything else is unnecessary and should therefor be done by non-government entities.

Otherwise why don't you go move to Somalia?

This bullshit meme really ought to stop. Somalia's current squalor is due to its past Socialism — your beloved Venezuela is to join the same sorry club soon. No doubt, the same morons currently claiming Somalia to be a "Libertarian paradise" will soon start spreading the same lie about Venezuela...