The Biden government remains, at least for the time being, the course set by the Trump administration in terms of space.
Why it matters: Administrations often abandon the goals of their predecessors in favor of new ones when they come to power. That kind of ‘moon shot whiplash’ can get NASA stuck on Earth because it requires consistency between administrations to achieve major reconnaissance objectives.
Send the news: Earlier this month, the Biden government confirmed its plans to continue with the Artemis program to land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface.
- The administration also threw its weight behind the Space Force, with White House press secretary Jen Psaki saying the new military branch had the “full support of the Biden government”.
- “I’m very proud of the Biden government for sticking to these very important measures,” Jim Bridenstine, Trump’s NASA administrator, told me. “My goal from day one was to create a program that was sustainable, that could move from one administration to the next.”
- The Biden administration also stresses the importance of climate change research at NASA and names Gavin Schmidt as the agency’s acting senior climate adviser, a new role expected to help lead NASA’s climate research.
Yes, but: Although some political appointments have been made at NASA, the administration has yet to submit a nomination for NASA Administrator, an important position that will drive the course of the space agency.
- The first Artemis mission is expected to bring people to the surface of the Moon by 2024, but it now seems less likely, and some recommend postponing the landing date for safety and funding reasons.
- Experts also question how the space policy and directions directed at space will be managed under this administration due to the possible dissolution of the National Space Council.
Between the lines: So far, many of Biden’s moments of space news have been due to questions from the press, and not statements from the administration that ran the news itself.
- “They were not very interested in space,” Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, unlike the Trump administration, told me. “It was not part of the campaign, and it’s apparently not something they took time to rush up and really dive into.”
What to look for: Even if Biden seems to be on the radar right now, the real test will be how much funding he proposes in the government’s budget.
- “You can say all the wonderful words in the world about Artemis,” Casey Dreier, of the Planetary Society, told me. “You can say all the wonderful things about NASA, but when it comes down to it, NASA needs the resources to succeed.”