Donald Trump removes iconic Apollo moon rock from the White House Oval Office; here's where it is now
US President Donald Trump administration has reportedly removed a moon rock from the Oval Office while marking a shift in its focus on lunar exploration, reported Space.com.
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According to Space.com, the lunar sample which was eventually collected during the last Apollo mission in the year 1972 actually symbolized the ongoing research and future missions of NASA to the moon. A NASA spokesperson also confirmed that the rock is being returned to the agency as part of a redesign of the West Wing.
During his inaugural address, US President Donald Trump put an emphasis on the ambitions for Mars but did not even mention the moon while raising several questions about his administration's commitment to lunar missions. Some eminent advisors which also included SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have reportedly advocated for prioritizing Mars over returning to the moon, asserted Space.com.
In spite of all this, the nominee of US President Donald Trump for NASA Administrator named Jared Isaacman actually expressed confidence that the Americans would walk on both the moon and Mars.
The removal of the moon rock might actually end up reflecting about a desire to distance from previous administration symbols, although at the same time, former US President Joe Biden had since displayed another moon rock in the Oval Office to highlight the ongoing space exploration efforts. Former US President Joe Biden had praised NASA astronauts and acknowledged the significance of lunar exploration during a recent visit with them
