Featured Image Credit: Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Nasa, Space, Social Media, US News, Twitter
Madison Burgess
Topics: Donald Trump, Nasa, Space, Social Media, US News, Twitter
There's a bizarre rumour going around that Donald Trump doesn't know where the Moon is.
The wild theory started after NASA's Artemis II mission got underway yesterday (1 April), sending a four-man crew to orbit the moon in the Orion spacecraft.
American astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen are currently on their way to Earth's only natural satellite for the 10-day mission.
Although they won't actually be setting foot on the Moon like the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, the Artemis II crew is paving the way for future lunar landings once again, and eventually, to send a crew to Mars one day.
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Ahead of liftoff, which was at 6.35pm EDT (11.35pm BST), the US President gushed over the mission in a Truth Social post.
Trump penned: "Tonight at 6:24 P.M. EST, for the first time in over 50 YEARS, America is going back to the Moon! Artemis II, among the most powerful rockets ever built, is launching our Brave Astronauts farther into Deep Space than any human has EVER gone."
He added: "We are WINNING, in Space, on Earth, and everywhere in between - Economically, Militarily, and now, BEYOND THE STARS. Nobody comes close!
"America doesn’t just compete, we DOMINATE, and the whole World is watching," he added. "God bless our incredible Astronauts, God bless NASA, and God bless the Greatest Nation ever to exist, the United States of America!"
His words of encouragement have sparked some confusion, though, as he said the Moon is 'beyond the stars'.
The Moon is actually the closest astronomical object to the Earth.
As per NASA, it's an average of 238,855 miles (384,400 km) away, whereas the stars are so far away that their distances are measured in light-years.
One X user highlighted Trump's wording and wrote: "Do you think he knows where the moon is?"
A second penned: "Not a damn chance!" and a third agreed: "Thus proving Donald Trump has no idea what he's talking about and has no idea what this launch was actually about. Good lord."
While a fourth sarcastically joked: "Are they going to the moon and then just continuing into deep space? Maybe someone should inform the astronauts!"
And a fifth wrote: "Apparently, none of them know where the moon is in relation to Earth, considering Trump's not even the one who writes those social media posts."
A sixth agreed: "Beyond the stars? The moon is the closest body in our solar system. Where is Trump sending our astronauts?"
Meanwhile, someone else pulled up an older tweet of Trump's from 2019, and penned: "I'm gonna say no."
The social media post in question read: "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!"
Liz Huston, White House spokeswoman, said: “During President Trump’s first term, the Artemis program was formally established to return humanity to the Moon. This historic Artemis II mission will strengthen American leadership in space, usher in scientific discoveries, and serve as the proving ground for missions to Mars."