Washington – President Donald Trump posted a tweet that got the world in an uproar about the United States going back to the Moon instead of focusing on Mars.

In a tweet, commenting on his own administration’s space policy, the president said: “For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon – We did that 50 years ago. They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!”

For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon – We did that 50 years ago. They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2019

Though it took some time, NASA Administer Jim Bridenstine posted a follow-up tweet to reaffirm NASA’s future path.

NASA will be focusing on the Moon in the short term, which will lead to human exploration of Mars.

As @POTUS said, @NASA is using the Moon to send humans to Mars! Right now, @MarsCuriosity and @NASAInSight are on Mars and will soon be joined by the Mars 2020 rover and the Mars helicopter. pic.twitter.com/Br1sTYfNzd — Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) June 7, 2019

NASA’s Moon first plan outlines the steps that we will take to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon, which will lead us to a crewed mission to Mars.

President Trump’s tweet didn’t come without ridicule though, many on Twitter and social media criticized Trump for not having clear vision for NASA’s future plans and also not specifying that Earth’s Moon is indeed not part of Mars.

I know reading isn’t really your thing so here are some pictures!



That red circley thing— That is Mars.



That smaller white circley thing— That is the Moon.



Mars ∩ Moon = Ø pic.twitter.com/6nTioXYBKj — Ryan Hill (@RyanHillMI) June 7, 2019

After all the fuss, America is still headed to Mars, but first, we are headed to the moon. We will set up bases and do science on the Moon to empower humanity to move towards setting foot on the red planet.