Trump’s new budget won't land us on the moon anytime soon
Vice President Pence may have vowed that the US would return astronauts to the moon , but it looks like we aren't getting there anytime soon. Ars Technica appears to have received an early copy of the White House's fiscal year 2019 budget set for release at 1 PM ET today. The "Lunar Exploration Campaign" outlined in the document only provides for incremental steps to return astronauts to the moon's surface, rather than a renewed focus on exploration. The administration's focus on the moon , rather than Mars (or some other, more scientifically relevant goal), was met with some grumbling in the space community. Now it appears that it isn't even a top priority; Ars Technica reports that NASA will work on unmanned landers to the lunar surface between now and 2023. It's only after that NASA would begin work on a lander that would return humans to the surface, and the document has no projected date for when that would happen (but it would be well after ...