Apollo 11 Astronaut : Maybe Trump 'Doesn't Understand That There Is A Planet Mars'
- 5 years ago
An Apollo 11 astronaut jabbed President Trump in a CNN interview.
Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins joked that President Trump may not know Mars exists.
During a recent interview on CNN's podcast 'Apollo 11: Beyond the Moon,' the former member of the 1969 moon landing team was asked about Trump's plans for space and Collins said: "I don't think he's too much aware of Mars. Maybe he doesn't understand that there is a planet Mars."
Collins was likely referring to Trump's focus, at one point, of going back to the moon. Last month, the president tweeted: "Under my Administration, we are restoring @NASA to greatness and we are going back to the Moon, then Mars. I am updating my budget to include an additional $1.6 billion so that we can return to Space in a BIG WAY!"
However, Trump seemed to backtrack from that Friday, tweeting: "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!"
While the ultimate goal is to get to Mars, many scientists have said surviving on the moon will be an important way to learn to acclimate away from Earth.
Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins joked that President Trump may not know Mars exists.
During a recent interview on CNN's podcast 'Apollo 11: Beyond the Moon,' the former member of the 1969 moon landing team was asked about Trump's plans for space and Collins said: "I don't think he's too much aware of Mars. Maybe he doesn't understand that there is a planet Mars."
Collins was likely referring to Trump's focus, at one point, of going back to the moon. Last month, the president tweeted: "Under my Administration, we are restoring @NASA to greatness and we are going back to the Moon, then Mars. I am updating my budget to include an additional $1.6 billion so that we can return to Space in a BIG WAY!"
However, Trump seemed to backtrack from that Friday, tweeting: "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!"
While the ultimate goal is to get to Mars, many scientists have said surviving on the moon will be an important way to learn to acclimate away from Earth.