
In news that no one expected to read in the middle of a pandemic, Donald Trump has signed an executive order to mine the moon for resources.
Yes, that is something that the president of the United States actually did while hundreds of thousands of his citizens are being impacted by a deadly virus. Priorities!
In a document released by the White House, Trump's order controversially rejects the 1979 global Moon Treaty agreement, which stated that any activity in space should abide by international law.
According to Trump's order, it states that:
Americans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space.
Outer space is a legally and physically unique domain of human activity, and the United States does not view it as a global commons.
In response, the Russian space agency has accused Trump of trying to 'privatise space.' In a statement, Roscosmos said:
Attempts to expropriate outer space and aggressive plans to actually seize territories of other planets hardly set the countries (on course for) fruitful cooperation.
For some, this may bring back memories of the Cold War 'space race' between the US and the Soviet Union but for many, they have just been left baffled that Trump would choose to concentrate on this during one of the most testing periods the world has experienced for a generation.
@Newsweek “We’re going to mine the moon and the Martians will pay for it.” ~ Donald J. Trump— 💈 That One Dude 💈 (@💈 That One Dude 💈) 1586372231
https://t.co/Bww6vdgppk— Hannah O'Hanrahahanrahan (@Hannah O'Hanrahahanrahan) 1586373063
Just when you thought this couldn't all get more ridiculous... https://t.co/tC3sps5PpF— Prof Michael E. Mann (@Prof Michael E. Mann) 1586315908
It's official - we live in the most ghastly work of satire imaginable. https://t.co/QiWupPQPkB— Graham Lithgow (@Graham Lithgow) 1586369769
Somehow I don't think his mind's on his job... https://t.co/HYr1eV5ERy— Davey Six-Toes (@Davey Six-Toes) 1586367944
Just when you thought this couldn't all get more ridiculous... https://t.co/tC3sps5PpF— Prof Michael E. Mann (@Prof Michael E. Mann) 1586315908
This isn't a million miles away from the premise of the sci-fi film Moon, where mankind attempts to harvest minerals from our lunar friend. Even that movies director, Duncan Jones, was a bit taken aback when he heard this news.
I may have some thoughts... https://t.co/oK9YOZAOMW— Duncan Jones (@Duncan Jones) 1586303729
Let's not forget that in June 2018, Donald Trump tweeted that the moon was 'a part of Mars' so we cannot wait to see how this is going to play out.