NASA Moon Mission In Danger: How Trump's Tweet Could Undermine Future Space Missions

President Donald Trump’s confusing tweet about NASA’s moon mission has seriously undermined the success of future space missions.

According to a report, the U.S. leader’s view on the scheduled return of American astronauts to the moon in the year 2024 has set some confusing premises regarding the national policies and provisions that surround it. According to the non-profit organization The Planetary Society, a group dedicated to space education and research, the nature of Trump’s tweet could be a serious impediment to the future of space exploration.

"Success in human spaceflight requires consistency and clarity in national policy," The Planetary Society tweeted in response to Trump. "The White House needs to clarify its expectations so that NASA can achieve great feats of science and exploration," the group said in a Tweet.

The reaction is understandable because consistency and focus are needed to put into action such a massive effort and project such as the moon mission and eventually the first human exploration to Mars.

"It's going to take longer than a single presidential term. And to build support, you need stability," Casey Dreier, the senior space policy adviser at The Planetary Society, said. Dreier also explained that without a solid national position, it would be hard to carry out the mission and get 100 percent support of the people working on the project.

"The tweet makes it harder to demonstrate that there is a consensus in the White House," he said.

President Trump recently tweeted his views on NASA’s current space projects and it gathered some violent reactions from different sectors of society.

“NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon - We did that 50 years ago," Trump said in the tweet, "They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!"

Aside from Trump’s hilarious belief that our moon is actually part of Planet Mars, the more serious implications are the U.S. government’s supposed direction for the space agency. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, however, clarified that the president’s tweet does not change the position or direction of the space agency’s current plans. It is also not a signal of any policy changes and that NASA is still on track of their schedule.

The U.S. space agency is expected to have a preliminary flight around the moon in 2022 before launching a moon lander, and eventually the first four astronauts, back on the lunar surface. Bridenstine also said that the success of the moon mission is crucial for NASA’s eventual journey to Mars.