Despite the ongoing pandemic, there is a lot to do in space this year. NASAs Perseverance robber is less than a month from landing on Mars; the James Webb space telescope launches on Halloween; and the Space Launch System—NASA’s most powerful missile ever–could see its inaugural launch later this year. And of course there is the Artemis program, which must bring a woman and a 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 policies and what his administration believes is the best way forward for the US space program. In the meantime we reached for space experts, asking a very simple question: What should Biden’s NASA priorities be?
John Mogsdon, professor of political science and international affairs at the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, said: “I think it is important that President Biden and his administration indicate early on that they are committed to continuing manned space exploration, with a return to the moon as the primary goal. The details of the current Artemis plan are likely to change, but it has been a long time since the United States has sent people to faraway destinations again. “
Indeed, NASA is full steam ahead the upcoming Artemis missions. The space agency originally planned for a moon landing in 2028, but the Trump administration has upped that by 2024. It is widely suspected that Biden will return NASA to its original timeline, but we can only speculate at this point.
Howard McCurdy, a professor of public affairs in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University in Washington DC, hopes Biden will keep an eye on this award – and other future awards. “His number one priority in space should be to create a lunar / Mars exploration plan that will run for more than five years – and which will also determine the future of the Boeing Starliner, the launch of the [James] Webb space telescope and the fate of the International Space Station confirm, ”said McCurdy. “He will have many scientific priorities, but NASA is not at the top of the list. “
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The whole Boeing Starliner thing is definitely worth considering as this project-a spacecraft to bring astronauts to the ISS-has been surrounded due to problems and delays. The first manned test of this system still seems to go a long way.
At the same time, SpaceX has delivered in the form of the CrewDragon spacecraft, with success transported NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the ISS last year. McCurdy also makes a good point about Mars, such as the Artemis moon program is one skip stone for the first human trip to the Red Planet, which could happen in the 2030s.
Jessica West, a program officer at Project Plowshares and the editor-in-chief of the Space Security Index, said: “The future of the Artemis program is vital. NASA’s international partners will want certainty and clarity about the scope of the US commitment and timeline. Collaboration is essential, both to succeed in space exploration and to ensure that our planet and humanity share in the benefits. This starts with diplomacy. NASA established the Artemis Accords as a tool for developing space exploration standards. But it is not clear how or if it will work with the wider international community to turn this into a more inclusive process, at a time when other states also have lunar ambitions. “
“The Biden administration should also be sensitive to the effects space forces – and its rhetorical emphasis on warfare and domination – are having on NASA and the global perception of its lunar ambitions, ” West added.
West brings up a very good point about the Artemis Accords. The tendrils of humanity into space are getting longer and more numerous with each passing year, complicating things from a geopolitical perspective. It would be good to have support from the international community for such matters, and it can be prove to be difficult with countries such as Russia and China.
Peter Singer, a strategist at New America and author of Ghost Fleet and Burn in, also agreed on Space Force, the newest branch of the United States Armed Forces. “Trump created Space Command, mainly because he saw it as applause at his meetings,” he said. “So how can NASA and this new military organization co-exist in the long run? They will have to work together when it makes sense, but also to make sure we don’t run the risk of space actually, or merely appearing, militarizing in our civilian activities. “
Ah yes – the constant threat that we would militarize space. That’s tricky, especially since the US is trying to keep up with its aggressive opponents and while Space Force works on ‘space forceIn this future war battle domain.
Moriba Jah, an aerospace engineer at the University of Texas, recommended: “The National Space Council – an organization that focuses on and reports on various national space-related activities, including government, academic world as industry – should be allowed to continue under Biden. NASA has a footprint in the National Space Council, and that should be able to continue. ”
Jah added: “Special emphasis should be placed on the safety and sustainability of space, including in relation to space traffic management. In 2018 Trump signed Space Policy Directive-3 [which focused on space traffic management]. The former government called on the Office of Space Commerce to take the lead – and I’m good at that. As for NASA’s role, it should provide input and oversight to the government regarding the scientific and technological needs of space traffic management. “
Space traffic management will certainly be a problem in the future. As it stands now, the rules around what goes into space, and how much of it, are reasonable loose. From January 20th, SpaceX has more than 1,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, with plans to add thousands more. That satellites can collide, creating large and dangerous clouds of debris is a possibility that increases with each successive satellite brought into low Earth orbit. We need someone to play traffic cop up there, as well as someone to take out the trash.
Dante Lauretta, principal investigator of the OSIRIS-REx mission and professor at the University of Arizona, hopes that the Biden Administration will maintain or increase financing for the NASA Science Mission Directorate. “This directorate conducts essential research to monitor and predict the effects of climate change, explore the solar system and study the Universe, ”he said.. “Budgets for the past four years have been favorable, and this is an area of the US federal government where scientific activity remains healthy. The amazing achievements of NASA science programs serve as shining examples of what we can do as a nation when we unite and focus on a common vision. “
Well said. It would be sad to waste all the good NASA has to offer right now, including satellites to help us predict bad space weather and back on Earth, surveys to monitor melting glaciers, and spacecraft carrying the Sun and interstellar space. And, per Lauretta’s interests, seize surface samples from a nearby asteroid.
Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, had a lot of wise advice for President Biden: “NASA is the only part of the US government that isn’t currently burning down, so don’t mess with (for the most part) success. What the manned space flight program most needs is for political leadership to not pull another 180, so Artemis continues despite its flaws, but scrapes the unrealistic 2024 deadline and appoints leaders who are not afraid to hold Boeing to account. “
McDowell also recommended strengthening a plan for the end of the International Space Station, which has now been more than 22 years old and is with his age. “Keep ISS going for a few more years to secure the investment in CrewDragon and Starliner, but decide on the shutdown plan.”
“On the robot / science side, fund it fully – support the climate science satellites and the educational work the previous government tried to reduce, bring the Webb telescope into space and run it, and let the scientific community choose the priorities for the future, ”McDowell said. “Above all, do not abuse the science program as a justification for human space – for example, by emphasizing lunarrelated science to provide an incorrect justification for Artemis, which is the kind of thing that has been done in the past. “
We also heard from Avi Loeb, a professor of astronomy at Harvard University, whose recommendations were both philosophical and practical. “Given the wide interest of the public, the scientific community and the commercial sector in space exploration, it is essential to create a new, bold vision that will maintain US leadership in space, ”said Loeb. “This goes well beyond national security concerns and relates to JFK’s 1962 vision, the year I was born. The public is eager for inspiring initiatives, and space provides an ideal backdrop for an exciting vision that our nation’s technological superiority. The importance of such a vision also builds on the immediate need to add satellites that allow better control over our impact on the climate and improve internet connectivity around the world. “
Right here. Space investment is often considered superfluous or indulgent, especially since we don’t lack problems on the surface. The challenge for Biden will be to achieve a good balance – one that meets our needs here on Earth, while continuing to fulfilll the legacy and potential of the US space program.
Good luck, Joe.