NASA Now Has a Deputy Administrator

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA Deputy Administrator Matthew Anderson. (NASA)

Well, better late than never. This week the Senate confirmed Matthew Anderson, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, as the new deputy administrator at NASA.

Last year, NASA provided this background information on Mr. Anderson:

Throughout his over 24-year tenure in the U.S. Air Force, Anderson culminated his career as the U.S. Transportation Command’s senior liaison officer to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), and U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM). He retired as a colonel Oct. 1, 2021. Anderson is currently a vice president and Space Force & Air Force client executive at CACI. He also serves as the chief growth officer at the Space Force Association.

An alum of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Anderson holds degrees in biology, aeronautical science, and leadership & counseling.

He said all of the right things at his confirmation hearing in March, stating:

Make no mistake… we are on a shot clock, and the stakes are high. Stakes that directly affect the balance of power here on earth.

If confirmed, I will 100 percent support the Administrator in executing the President’s space policy. I will roll up my sleeves and tirelessly serve the talented workforce at NASA, be a great teammate with Congress, and beat China to the moon.

Together, we have the opportunity to usher in a new Golden Age of science and discovery,

It was a long road to this point, as well as a close vote (46-43), but the team is on board and its time to get all hands on deck so the new “Golden Age” can get started.

By the way, it is the Congress’ budget, and not the proposed White House budget, that provides the gold to pay for this program. The White House seems to have only enough gold to adorn its walls in the style of Louis XIV.

Note: The Senate vote on Jared Isaacman for NASA administrator was 67-30.

Videos: Fungi Homes and More About Life On and Beyond Earth

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Aeon.co

If you need to stretch your mind, I recommend you check out some of the articles and videos available on the Aeon website. As the website states about its purpose:

We ask the big, existentially significant questions and find the freshest, most original answers, provided by leading thinkers on philosophy, science, psychology, society and culture.

One recently posted video with US astrobiologist Lynn Rothschild is a fascinating discussion about the difficulties in humans surviving on another planet or moon, and some of the problems and potential solutions that need to be considered. The video ends with a Q&A where Dr. Rothschild goes into a variety of related topics.

The talk itself comes from The Long Now Foundation, which has this statement about Dr. Rothschild’s talk titled “Nature’s Hardware Store”:

In her Long Now Talk, Dr. Rothschild will open the doors to “Nature’s hardware store” — a vast, largely untapped reservoir of biological strategies available to scientists, engineers, and innovators. Dr. Rothschild’s own work in recent years has included 3D-printing trees, designing fungal-based housing fit for the moon, and building synthetic cells de novo in the lab. In doing so, she has connected theoretical insights about the very nature of life on this planet with practical applications and future directions for innovation on the hardest problems facing our civilization.

The foundation has many other other great talks, including science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson and public policy expert Stephen Heintz talking about geopolitics here on Earth.

But getting back to Aeon, some other videos for you to explore include:

With the news seemingly on a doom loop these days, it is worth contemplating some new ideas, if only to give your mind a rest. For that reason, you need Aeon and The Long Now Foundation in your mental medicine cabinet.

Enjoy.

Space Stories: Martian Contract Questions, French Spacesuit Travels to ISS, and China Readies Next Space Station Mission

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): View of Mars from the NASA Mars Global Surveyor MOC wide angle cameras. (NASA)

Here are some recent space-related stories.

—Ars Technica: “One Mars Spacecraft, Two Senators, and a Cloud of Questions“

ASA released a much-anticipated contract solicitation for a Mars-orbiting spacecraft late last week, kicking off what is sure to be a hotly contested and potentially controversial procurement. At issue is $700 million, already appropriated by Congress, to build a spacecraft, launch it to Mars, and once there to serve as a vehicle to relay communications between the red planet and Earth. But the stakes may be even bigger than this, including the possible resurrection of the recently canceled Mars Sample Return mission. As part of the new solicitation, NASA says it will conduct the acquisition “as a full and open competition.” But will it? That’s the question that several people involved with this procurement process are asking. And it could turn messy, quickly.

—European Spaceflight: “French Spacesuit Prototype Delivered to the International Space Station“

A European intravehicular activity (IVA) spacesuit prototype developed under a CNES-initiated programme was transported to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The spacesuit will be tested aboard the station by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot. The EuroSuit project was initiated by CNES in December 2023 as part of the agency’s Spaceship FR programme, which aims to foster the development of core technologies required for future crewed missions beyond low Earth orbit.

—China Global Television Network: “China to Launch Shenzhou-23 Crewed Mission to Space Station in Coming Days“

The combination of the Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft and the Long March-2F Y23 carrier rocket was transferred to the launchpad at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Saturday, according to the China Manned Space Agency. All facilities and equipment at the launch site are in good condition. Various pre-launch functional inspections and joint tests will be carried out as scheduled in the coming days. The launch is planned to take place in the coming days.

Astronomy Question: The Klingon Language

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation. (Paramount Skydance Corporation)

Multiple Choice: When was first use of a fully constructed Klingon language?

A. 1967 in the “Errand of Mercy” episode of the television series Star Trek.
B. 1979 in the movie Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
C. 1984 in the movie Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
D. 1987 in the “Encounter at Farpoint” episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Take a guess and then check your answer by going to the “Astronomy Question Answer Sheet” page.

Note: I know these are not really “astronomy” questions. Maybe a separate “Sci-Fi Question” section will need to be developed.

House Budget Looking Better for NASA

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: ABC’s Schoolhouse Rock

The Planetary Society has provided a nice summary of where the NASA funding battle is at this moment. Here is its latest summary of events:

  • The House budget bill that includes NASA funding just cleared a key hurdle, advancing out of the Appropriations Committee. This is the first funding bill for FY 2027 to be released and reach this stage, establishing congressional intent and rejecting the worst of the Office of Management and Budget’s proposed cuts to NASA.
  • The bill keeps NASA funding flat with the currently enacted budget, but reprioritizes funding levels across the agency, including a 17% cut to Science to offset increases elsewhere.
  • A number of science missions proposed for cancellation by the OMB see their funding protected by this bill, including OSIRIS-APEX, New Horizons, and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. New programs initiated by Administrator Isaacman that were absent from the OMB proposal, like Space Reactor-1 Freedom, also see their first dedicated mention in the proposal.
  • The full House still needs to vote on this, and the Senate is expected to release its own proposal within weeks. Congress will then work to develop full-year funding, in anticipation of the start of FY 2027 on Oct. 1, but will likely require a short-term funding patch, which comes with its own hurdles.

I recommend you read the entire statement, House Appropriators Advance Key NASA Funding Bill, to fully understand the rigors of this Hill battle. Fortunately, both the House and Senate continue to be supportive of NASA’s work and Administrator Isaacman’s new direction for Artemis. It helps to have someone full time at the helm of the agency.

I was especially pleased to read that missions such as New Horizons and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory are being saved and key programs like the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope are no longer facing drastic cuts. It is unfortunate that the White House was so willing to destroy generations of space-related work – what have been called the crown jewels of our space program.

The budget battle is not over, but we are seeing that when good legislators push back, good things can happen.