Trump reinstates the National Space Council on June 30, 2017 with astronaut Buzz Aldrin (R).
President Donald Trump signed a directive on Monday directing NASA to start working on a program to get humans back on the moon and later to Mars. The directive is based on recommendations from the National Space Council, which Trump reestablished in June.
The move which follows a string of efforts by the Trump administration to spur manned space exploration.
"He will change our nation's human spaceflight policy to help America become the driving force for the space industry, gain new knowledge from the cosmos, and spur incredible technology," spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.
However, funding concerns still pose major obstacles to Trump's goals. Here are the steps his administration has taken so far to spur space exploration, and the challenges it faces.