Here’s What Biden Should Prioritise at NASA - Gizmodo Australia

NASA’s Perseverance rover is less than a month away from landing on Mars; the James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to launch on Halloween; and the Space Launch System — NASA’s most powerful rocket ever — could see its inaugural launch later this year.

And of course, there’s the Artemis program, which is supposed to deliver a woman and man to the lunar surface in just three years.

We will learn much in the coming weeks and months about President Biden’s NASA policy and what his administration believes is the best path forward for the American space program.

John Mogsdon, a professor or political science and international affairs from the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, said: “I think it is important for President Biden and his administration to early on indicate a commitment to sustaining a human space exploration effort, with a return to the Moon as its first objective.

Howard McCurdy, a professor of public affairs in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University in Washington, D.C., hopes that Biden keeps his eye on this prize — and other prizes to come.

“His main space priority should be establishing a lunar/Mars exploration plan that lasts more than five years — also determining the future of the Boeing Starliner, launching the [James] Webb space telescope, and cementing the fate of the International Space Station,” said McCurdy.

McCurdy also brings up a good point about Mars, as the Artemis Moon program is a skipping stone for the first human journey to the Red Planet, which could happen in the 2030s.

Jessica West, a program officer at Project Ploughshares and the managing editor of its Space Security Index, had this to say: “The future of the Artemis program is essential.

NASA’s international partners are going to want assurances and clarity on the scope of the U.S.

Cooperation is key, both to succeed at space exploration and to ensure that our planet and humanity share in the benefits.

NASA has drafted the Artemis Accords as a tool for the development of norms for space exploration.

Moriba Jah, an aerospace engineer at the University of Texas, recommended the following: “The National Space Council — an organisation that focuses and reports out on various national activities with regards to space, both in government, academia, and industry — should be allowed to continue under Biden.

NASA has a footprint in the National Space Council, and that should be allowed to continue.”.

Jah added: “There should be a dedicated emphasis in space safety and sustainability, including as it relates to space traffic management.

In 2018, Trump signed Space Policy Directive-3 [which focused on space traffic management].

As for NASA’s role, it should provide input and oversight to the government regarding the science and technology needs of space traffic management.”.

What the human spaceflight program needs most is for the political leadership not to pull another 180, so continue Artemis despite its flaws, but remove the unrealistic 2024 deadline and appoint leaders who are not afraid to hold Boeing to account.”.

McDowell also recommended firming up a plan for the end of the International Space Station, which has now been in orbit for more than 22 years and is showing its age

“On the robotic/science side, fund it fully — supporting the climate science satellites and the education work the previous Administration tried to cut, get the Webb telescope into space and working, and let the science community pick the priorities going forward,” McDowell said

“Above all, don’t misuse the science program as a justification for the human space stuff — for example by forcing an emphasis on lunar-related science to provide a spurious justification for Artemis, which is the sort of thing that’s been done in the past.”

“Given the wide interest in space exploration from the public, the scientific community and the commercial sector, it is essential to establish a new, bold vision that will maintain the leadership of the U.S

Space investment is often considered superfluous or indulgent, particularly as we face no shortage of problems on the surface

The challenge for Biden will be in achieving a fine balance — one that meets our needs here on Earth, while continuing to fulfil the legacy and potential of the American space program

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