Last week, President Biden named former Senator Bill Nelson as the 14th NASA administrator. This nomination comes at a critical time, and Senator Nelson is no stranger to Capitol Hill, NASA or even the Space Launch System.
On April 2, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower called on Congress to establish the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Soviet Union succeeds in the space domain, and President Eisenhower knew that it was essential for the United States to win the space race or to have serious consequences for national security. Congress met the call 12 days later when the Senate and House of Representatives enacted legislation that would create the current NASA. Nearly a decade after President Eisenhower made the first call to action, Neil Armstrong took his giant leap for all mankind.
We have now entered a new space race for the moon and beyond. Russia and China have entered the arena, with both countries recently signing a memorandum of understanding to create a joint lunar space station.
Russia, which has been a long-standing partner with NASA on the International Space Station, sent a clear signal by entering into an alliance with China for lunar exploration, rather than continuing its historic partnerships by joining the United States and the rest of the international space community in a return to the moon.
China has recently made great strides with its own space program. Last November, China launched its successful robot Chang’e-5 mission and brought back new monsters from the moon. While there, he planted a Chinese flag displaying the country’s growing ability in space. The return was the first probe to bring back monsters from the moon since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission in 1976.
We as a nation cannot simply rejoice in the achievements we have explored in the moon. Imagine the eerie scenario that China or Russia remove the American flag that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planted on the moon in 1969 and bring it back to Earth to use as propaganda to advance their own interests in the space race.
During their tenure, President Trump, Vice President Pence and NASA Administrator Bridenstine laid the foundation for the United States to remain the leader in the world’s space domain. We worked together to re-establish the National Space Council, witnessed the revival of American rockets, launched American astronauts from US soil using commercially supplied launch vehicles, established the Space Force and called for a new era of space exploration. – the return to the moon the Artemis program.
It is imperative that we build on the foundation laid for Artemis, which will eventually move us beyond returning to the moon, and beyond to a goal of landing astronauts on Mars.
Last week, President Biden named former Senator Bill Nelson as the 14th NASA administrator. This nomination comes at a critical time, and Senator Nelson is no stranger to Capitol Hill, NASA or even the Space Launch System. During his confirmation process, I expect Senator Nelson to follow his own words that the NASA administrator should be ‘not political’, but a ‘perfect astronaut’. With roots spanning multiple administrations, Artemis will not survive if it is now offered as a biased program. The scientific and engineering capabilities contained in the Artemis program are supported on both sides of the aisle and their objectives will only be achieved through a holistic and dual approach. I also expect Senator Nelson to show absolute support for Artemis by prioritizing the program in the administration’s budget request to the Senate Credit Committee.
I am part of the Apollo generation, and I remember the daring visions of our leaders that produced incredible and heroic achievements that brought this country together and inspired 50 years of space exploration. Leaders again set bold deadlines by 2024 to land Americans on the moon, and the goal was set by the United States in the race to bring astronauts back to the moon. If we postpone and delay the Artemis mission until 2025, 2026 or even 2030, there is no doubt that we will lose this space race to Russia and China.
It’s time to inspire the Artemis generation. The new government’s early statements about their support for Artemis and the direction of the program are encouraging, but words alone will not give us back to the moon.
I agree with President Eisenhower’s call for action and call on President Biden and Senator Nelson to support the Artemis mission not only through words but also actively. I fear that our country’s leadership in space is in danger if we do not.
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Chance.) Is the rank member of the Senate Credit, Justice and Science Subcommittee on Commerce Credit, serving on the Senate and Science Commerce Committee.