Trump administration is keen to stop funding the International Space Station by 2025: Report

The US is planning to stop funding for the International Space Station. This comes ahead of the budget session in the US which will take place on 12 February. [caption id=“attachment_4261487” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] International Space Station[/caption] According to a report by The Verge, by 2025, the Trump administration is keen to remove the support for the International Space Station which it receives via NASA. The International Space Station (ISS), launched in 1998, is a space laboratory in the Earth’s orbit which works in collaboration with many countries. These countries include Russia, Japan and Europe. ISS conducts experiments which may not be possible in Earth’s atmospheric pressure. Research done here can help NASA in space exploration. The decision to remove the funding comes after Donald Trump had signed the NASA Transition Authorisation Act, where the ISS was given a transition time to change its funding partner, instead of NASA. NASA had reportedly never released any information regarding the Act. Meanwhile, in December, Donald Trump had **signed a directive** where the astronauts were asked to explore the moon and “eventually Mars”. Therefore, if NASA plans to explore the moon, it would become difficult for it to fund ISS since, reportedly, it has other space plans decided. This is not the first time that such an incident has happened. During the Obama administration there were talks of the government removing ties with the ISS, but later on, it was extended.