The President criticised NASA for  plans to send man back to the moon writing : For all 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 part), defense AND science!

Space enthusiasts didn’t waste time in poking fun at the tweet, which was posted from Air Force One as he returned from Europe. 

The declaration was doubly astonishing considering that just last month he appeared to champion the idea of another lunar visit.

In a tweet he wrote: we are going back to the moon.

NASA head Jim Bridenstine, who was appointed by Trump,  announced plans to send astronauts back to the moon by 2024, part of a broader initiative to use the moon as an outpost for eventual missions to Mars.

The bizarre tweet, which has yet to be deleted, received more than 91k likes and 50k comments.

Sigh… His dad must have paid his way through astronomy class too! SAD.

Another said: Well, it’s finally happened, the hairspray molecules have infected his entire brain’.

Comedian David Baddiel mocked: The man who accuses everyone else in the world of peddling fake news says the moon is part of Mars.

Another said: ‘You are not fit to lead this country (or explain the solar system to my children)’

One user posted a picture of the Mars and its distance from Earth and the moon writing: ‘That red circle thing- that is Mars…. The smaller white circle thing- that is the moon.’

The planet Mars is 140m miles from the moon.

The accelerated timetable for going to the moon was recommended by Mike Pence, the Vice President, in March.

“They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars(of which the moon is part)”

Donald Trump on Twitter

Trump’s administration asked Congress in May to increase NASA’s budget proposal as a downpayment to accommodate the goal of returning to the moon.

The last time man stepped on the moon was during the Apollo mission in 1972.

Commander Gene Cernan was the eleventh man to walk on the lunar surface 47 years ago. 

President Trump also said in 2017 that he wants to return Americans to the moon and establish a foundation there for an eventual mission to Mars.

NASA wants to build a way station, dubbed Gateway, for trips to and from Earth and to and from Mars, in the moon’s orbit ‘by 2026’.

• Donald Trump

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