On Monday, December 11, President Trump held a ceremony where he signed a new directive for America’s space program. The goal? Putting American astronauts back on the moon to “establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars.”
Now where have we heard something like this before? Oh yes, former Speaker of the House and Republican Presidential Candidate, Newt Gingrich, mentioned colonizing the moon on the campaign trail, claiming in 2012 that if he were elected, by the end of his second term, “we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American.”
Well it seems that the idea resonated with the Trump administration as well. And while there was no talk of fitting a giant laser on the moon and pointing it at North Korea, President Trump didn’t rule out weaponizing the moon. “Space has so much to do with so many other applications,” he said. “Including a military application.”
Vice President Mike Pence is the chairman of the recently-revived National Space Council, which were the ones who unanimously approved the directive behind closed doors in October. At Monday’s press conference, Pence made it clear that this new policy will “enhance our national security and our capacity to provide for the common defense of the people of the United States of America.”
So what does this mean for the common American? Will the 51st state be on the moon? Will we be able to take our vacations into orbit on the back of an American rocket and stay at a Trump Moon Hotel? Will we fend off nuclear missiles with a Dr. Evil-type moon laser after all? “Imagine the possibility waiting in those big, beautiful stars if we dare to dream big,” the President said. “And that’s what our country is doing again: We’re dreaming big.”