Despite the ongoing pandemic, there is a lot to be excited about this year. NASA’s Perseverance is less than a month away from landing on Mars; the James Webb Space Telescope plans to launch on Halloween; and the Space Launch System—NASA’s Most Powerful rocket ever–may be his first launch later this year. And of course there are the Artemis program, which is supposed to deliver a woman and man to the lunar surface in just three years.
We will learn a lot in the coming weeks and months about President Biden’s NASA policy and what he thinks is the best path for the US space program. Meanwhile, the we reach out to astronauts, asks a very simple question: What should be Biden’s NASA priorities?
John Mogsdon, a professor of political science and international affairs at the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, said: ‘I think it’s important for President Biden and his government to make an early commitment to maintain an effort to explore human space, with the first aim of returning to the moon. The details of the current Artemis plan are likely to change, but it’s over time for the United States to send people to distant destinations again. ”
Indeed, NASA is in full swing the upcoming Artemis missions. The space agency originally planned to make a lunar landing in 2028, but the Trump administration pushed it to 2024. It is widely believed that Biden will return NASA to its original timeline, but we can only speculate at this point.
Howard McCurdy, a professor of public affairs at the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Washington, DC, hopes Biden will keep an eye on this award – and other awards to come. ‘Its main space priority should be to draw up a lunar / Mars reconnaissance plan lasting more than five years – and also to determine the future of the Boeing Starliner and the [James] Webb Space Telescope, and the confirmation of the fate of the International Space Station, “said McCurdy. ‘He will have many scientific priorities, but NASA is nowhere near the top of the list. ”
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The whole Boeing Starliner thing is definitely worth thinking about, because this project –a spacecraft for the delivery of astronauts to the ISS –has been occupy through problems and delays. The first crew test of this system seems to be another way.
At the same time, SpaceX delivered the successful CrewDragon spacecraft transport NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley went to the ISS last year. McCurdy also brings up a good point about Mars, like the Artemis Moon program is a skip stone for the first man travel to the Red Planet, which could happen in the 2030s.
Jessica West, a program officer for Project Plowshares and the managing editor of its Space Security Index, said: ‘The future of the Artemis program is crucial. NASA’s international partners want assurances and clarity about the scope of the US commitment and timeline. Collaboration is key, both to be successful in exploring space and to ensure that our planet and humanity share in the benefits. It starts with diplomacy. NASA drafted the Artemis Accords as a tool for developing space exploration standards. But it is not clear how or whether it will work with the wider international community to transform it into a more inclusive process, at a time when other states also have lunar ambitions. ”
‘The Biden administration must also be sensitive to the effects that the Space Force – and this is rhetorical emphasis on warfare and domination – has on NASA and the global perception of the lunar ambitions, “West added.
West makes a very good point about the Artemis Acropes. Mankind’s branches in space is getting longer and longer with each passing year, things get more complicated from a geopolitical perspective. It would be good to get a purchase from the international community on such matters, which could possibly be difficult with countries like Russia and China.
Peter Singer, a New America strategist and author of Ghost Fleet and Brand in, also looked at Space Force, the newest branch of the U.S. military. ‘Trump created Space Command, mostly because he sees it as a line of applause at his rallies,he said. ‘So how does NASA and this new military organization co-exist in the long run? They will have to work together if it makes sense, but also to ensure that we do not risk the real or just the appearance of militarization of space in our civic activities. ”
Ah yes – the constant threat that we can militarize space. This is difficult, especially since the US is trying to keep up with its aggressive opponents. and while Space Force works to ‘spaceshipIn this prospective war-fighting domain.
Moriba Jah, an aeronautical engineer at the University of Texas, recommends the following: ‘The National Space Board – an organization that focuses on and reports on various national space-related activities, both in government, academia and industry – must be allowed. to continue under Biden. NASA has a footprint in the National Space Council, and it must be allowed to continue. ‘
Jah added: ‘Dedicated emphasis must be placed on the safety and sustainability of the space, also with regard to space traffic management. In 2018, Trump will sign the Space Policy Directive-3 [which focused on space traffic management]. The former government has called on the Office of Space Trade to take the lead – and I’m fine with that. As for the role of NASA, it should provide the government with input and oversight of the scientific and technological needs of space traffic management. ”
Managing space traffic will definitely be a problem moving forward. As it stands now, the rules around what goes into space, and how much of it, is reasonable loose. Though January 20, The SpaceX more than 1,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, with plans to add thousands more. That satellites can collapse, creating large and dangerous clouds of debris, is a possibility that increases with each successive satellite added at a low orbit around the earth. We need someone to play traffic man there, as well as someone on take out the trash.
Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for the OSIRIS-REx mission and professor at the University of Arizona, hope that the Biden Administration will maintain or increase funding for the NASA Science Mission Directorate. ‘This directorate conducts essential research to monitor and predict the effects of climate change, to study the solar system and to study the universe, ”he said.. ‘The past four years’ budgets have been favorable, and this is one area of the U.S. federal government where scientific activities remain healthy. The amazing achievements of NASA science programs serve as excellent examples of what we as a nation can do if we unite and focus on a common vision. ‘
Well said. It would be sad to miss all the good things NASA is currently doing, including satellites to help us predict bad space weather and back on earth, recordings to melting glaciers monitor, and spacecraft flying in the Sun and interstellar space. And, according to Lauretta’s interests, moving surface samples of a nearby asteroid.
Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, gave very sensible advice to President Biden: “NASA is the one part of the US government that is not currently burning down, so do not mess with (mostly) success. What the human space program needs most is that the political leadership does not have to pull another 180, so Artemis continues despite its shortcomings, but removes the unrealistic deadline for 2024 and appoints leaders who are not afraid to hold Boeing accountable . ”
McDowell also recommends drawing up a plan for the end of the International Space Station, which is now more than a orbit 22 years and is show his age. “Keep ISS going for a few more years to make the investment made on CrewDragon and Starliner, but decide on the closure plan.”
‘On the robot / scientific side, fully fund it – support the climate science satellites and education that the previous government tried to cut, get the Webb telescope in space and work, and let the scientific community choose the priorities ahead, ”he said. McDowell said. ‘Above all, do not abuse the scientific program as a justification for human space – for example, by emphasizing lunar-related science to give Artemis a false justification, these are the kind of things that have been done in the past. ‘
We also heard from Avi Loeb, a professor of astronomy at Harvard University, whose recommendations were philosophical and practical. ‘Given the great interest in exploring the space of the public, the scientific community and the commercial sector, it is essential to create a new daring vision that will keep the US leadership in space, ”Loeb said. ‘It goes far beyond national security interests and relates to JFK’s vision from 1962, the year I was born. The public is eager for inspiring initiatives, and space provides an ideal backdrop for an exciting vision that will advance us ntechnological superiority. The importance of such a vision also builds on the immediate need to add satellites that can better control our climate impact and improve internet connections around the world. ‘
Here, here. Space investment is often considered superfluous or indulgent, especially since there is no shortage of problems on the surface. The challenge for Biden will be to strike a fine balance – one that meets our needs here on Earth as we continue to meetl the legacy and potential of the American space program.
Good luck, Joe.