US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that moves to protect Nasa’s Artemis space programme, which aims to return astronauts to the moon with an eye towards building a permanent lunar presence.
The directive reinforces Nasa’s current plans for sending Americans back to the moon by 2028, and for Americans to begin establishing the outpost by 2030.
It also reaffirms Nasa’s plans to use space nuclear power, including readying nuclear reactors for launch by 2030.
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Thursday’s order calls for the elimination of the National Space Council with plans to transition its authority to the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
The National Space Council is a White House policy body first created in 1989 to advise the president on issues of space policy and implementation.
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The order also seeks to develop next-generation missile-defence technology by 2028 as part of Trump’s Golden Dome project. It also envisions the US attracting at least US$50 billion of additional investment in American space markets by 2028.