Donald Trump Signs NASA Bill to Send Humans to Mars

In a recent bill, signed by President Donald Trump, funding for NASA has been increased, and along with this new budget is a plan for us to send humans to Mars in the 2030s. Two of the Senators who assisted in authoring the bill are Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

Some don’t find an importance in funding space programs such as NASA, since space exploration doesn’t affect us directly, but as many astronomers and cosmologists watch the heavens, we can’t help but be curious too. It’s possible that our species finds a new home as we colonize an entirely different planet we are not accustomed to. A planet with an atmosphere that’s 95% carbon dioxide and covered in red dust that will forever leave tracks in our martian living rooms that our parents will have to clean. In the event that a catastrophic disaster occurs, escape may be our only answer. Thus, by knowing that we are able to sustain life on other planets within our solar system, we will be given an edge that Earth’s previous dominant inhabitants didn’t have: The ability to soar — Except pterodactyls.

The bill is called the NASA Transition Authorization Act, and this gives the space administration 19.5 billion dollars for the fiscal year of 2018. As much as President Trump has had his run-ins with the scientific community, I’m sure this is something that pleases a few of us.