WASHINGTON – Jim Bridenstine used part of his last full day as a NASA administrator to call on the incoming government to continue the Artemis program and return people to the moon.
A January 19 briefing on the Space Launch System’s Green Run static fire test three days earlier provided an opportunity for Bridenstine, who is leaving the agency on January 20 at the end of the Trump administration, to reflect on his nearly three years of work and his desire to see the agency’s human space exploration program continue.
“How do we build a program that can stand the test of time?” he said, noting how to begin and stop efforts dating back to the Space Exploration Initiative three decades ago. “We need our Artemis program, our moon-to-Mars program must span generations.”
The failures of previous attempts mean that Bridenstine, born in 1975, is the first NASA administrator not yet alive when humans last walked on the moon. “I think it’s important that I’m the last NASA administrator in history who did not live when people lived and worked on the moon,” he said. ‘This is a failure of the United States and of humanity. We must make sure we lead the world in returning to the moon and further to Mars. ”
Biden’s incoming administration did not set out its plans for the space agency. A section in the Democratic Party platform, published in July last year, indicates support for a human return to the moon, but does not endorse the Trump administration’s 2024 goal of doing so.
“NASA needs to go back and see what the options are for going to the moon as quickly as possible,” Bridenstine said in an interview after the Jan. 16 Green Run test at the Stennis Space Center. This has been hampered, he admits, by the lack of funding for the Human Landing System (HLS) crew development program for lunar landers, which receives only about a quarter of NASA’s $ 3.3 billion for fiscal year 2021 has.
In the call, Bridenstine said NASA is still investigating the impact of the reduced HLS funding for the 2024 target, as the omnibus bill was signed into law less than a month ago. “NASA is doing its job to figure out, number one, we need to change our mind,” he said. “I have no doubt that the wonderful people at NASA are going to offer a range of options for our return to the moon that the next government can fully buy and support.”
These plans, he said in the previous interview, should include the SLS. “When we talk about sending people to the moon, it’s the greatest chance of success at the earliest possible moment,” he said. “Given the amount of effort and time and investment already made, let’s just cross it to the finish line and then go from there.”
Bridenstine’s successor
Bridenstine leaves NASA with relatively little fanfare, such as a farewell ceremony. Jim Morhard, the outgoing deputy administrator, posted a tribute to Bridenstine on Twitter on January 19, thanking him for his work leading the agency.
.@JimBridenstine serve @NASA with determination and passion. This agency has achieved remarkable achievements under his leadership and has made history several times. Thanks and Ad Astra! pic.twitter.com/kFVvbJPn7E
– Jim Morhard (@jmorhard) 19 January 2021
“It was an emotional week,” Bridenstine said in the interview. He said he was in Washington just before the Green Run test and “said goodbye to people”.
With the departure of Bridenstine and Morhard, Steve Jurczyk, co-administrator of NASA, will serve as acting administrator until the Biden government is appointed, and the Senate confirms that he is a permanent successor. The new administration has not yet announced when it expects to announce a nominee, but did announce its “scientific team” on January 15.
Shortly after the election, several potential candidates for NASA administrator emerged, mostly women. They included former astronaut Pam Melroy, former chief executive of the Aerospace Corporation, Wanda Austin, and Kendra Horn, a former congressman who had previously chaired the House Spatial Subcommittee.
“I think the Biden-Harris government wants to call, out of everything I understand, the first female NASA administrator,” said Jack Burns, a professor of astronomy at the University of Colorado who is on the NASA transition team for Trump. served, said. administration four years ago, during a session of the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society on January 14th. “Some of the names put forward are extremely well qualified.”
Bridenstine presented a similar assessment in the interview, but without identifying specific candidates. “I heard a few names, all very capable, very capable people,” he said. “I am confident that the future is bright.”
This transition work took place quietly, and without the conflict and drama being seen at other agencies where the outgoing Trump administration is not cooperating. “The situation at NASA, both in the last transition and this transition, was in fact much closer to normal,” Burns said. “When I talk to the Biden-Harris transition team for NASA, I feel like there was good cooperation.”
Bridenstine said he had no plans for NASA for his future other than to return to Oklahoma and spend time with his family there. “I like space, but I do not know what the future holds there,” he said when asked if he wanted to stay in the industry in some way. “We’ll have to see.”
Bridenstine did say he will be following the agency closely and plans to see the landing of the Mars 2020 rover and the launch of Artemis 1 next month. He also promised to support someone who succeeds him as the leader of NASA. “Whoever the next NASA administrator is, I’m going to be all-in,” he said in the interview. “However I can help them, I want to help them.”
He repeated it again at the end of the Green Run briefing. “I will watch with great interest,” he said. “There will be a new NASA administrator, and when that person comes in, they will have my full support to do the amazing things NASA does.”