Congressional Letter: Concerns About DOGE at NASA

Posted on by onespaceman2000

Three Democratic Ranking Members of Congress wrote a letter to NASA’s acting Commissioner earlier today about the role of the “so called” Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at NASA. This letter followed a February 6th letter on the same issue, which received a less than open NASA response.

The letter expressed strong concerns about the activities of DOGE, including Elon Musk’s conflict of interest with the agency, and asked several questions it needed answered to feel more confident. This quote provides the general tenor of the letter:

While we appreciate the agency’s confirmation that a DOGE-affiliated individual (“DOGE Agent”) will be embedded inside NASA, that fact only sharpens our fears regarding DOGE’s potential to inflict harm – intentionally or unintentionally – on the agency and its mission. We must reiterate our deep alarm at this situation. Given DOGE’s destructive seizure of power throughout the federal government and the unique conflicts-of-interest that Elon Musk possesses with NASA, DOGE’s presence at the agency creates an unprecedented threat from within NASA’s own house. We are thus compelled to demand further explanation on a number of points related to DOGE’s relationship and activities with NASA. Complete transparency on the part of the agency is required. NASA must fully disclose the nature of its interactions with DOGE so the Committee can assess the full extent of the danger.

This does not sound like a normal conversation about a standard audit, which is already regularly done by the agency’s Inspector General. No, phrases such as “inflict harm,” “unprecedented threat,” and “full extent of the danger” shows we are dealing with a completely different situation.

Secret audits administered by a billionaire and his band of teenagers should not give anyone any sense of comfort or any confidence that the work will be above board. We appear to be going the route of Russia, but given the condition of its space program we may want to reconsider.

Let’s hope Congress keeps on pushing, even if half of the Congress remains asleep while the DOGE destruction continues.

Pic of the Week: Super Star Cluster Westerlund 1

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Super star cluster Westerlund 1. (ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), M. G. Guarcello (INAF-OAPA) and the EWOCS team)

This week’s image from the James Webb Space Telescope was released late last year. It shows Westerlund 1, a colorful “super star” cluster.  

Here is the description of what you are seeing from NASA:

Super star clusters are young and contain more than 10,000 times the mass of the Sun packed into a small volume. Westerlund 1 is the most massive yet identified in our galaxy, with 50,000 to 100,000 times the mass of the Sun contained within a region less than six light-years across. Still considered an open cluster now, someday it will evolve into a globular cluster – a roughly spherical, tightly packed collection of old stars bound together by gravity.

Super star clusters are one of the most extreme environments in which stars and planets can form. Because our galaxy is past its peak of star formation, and because stars live relatively short lives, only a few of these clusters still exist to give us clues to that past era.

Westerlund 1 has a large, dense, and diverse population of evolved, massive stars. It contains so many massive stars that in a timespan of less than 40 million years, it’ll be the site of more than 1500 supernovas. This cluster is a natural laboratory for the study of extreme stellar physics, helping us learn how the most massive stars in our galaxy live and die, and how stellar winds, supernovae, and other ejected material affect star formation within their environment.

Upcoming Event: Stories from the Archaeology of a Space Station

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The International Space Station. (NASA)

On February 27th, the Archaeological Institute of America’s (AIA) Washington DC Society will be sponsoring an archaeological talk titled “The Past of the Future / The Future of the Past: Stories from the Archaeology of a Space Station.”

Professor Justin Walsh from Chapman University and the University of South Carolina has co-directed the first full-scale archaeological investigation of a site in space, in this case the International Space Station (ISS). He will share aspects of this work as well as discuss how social science disciplines like archaeology can be useless tool for improving life on Earth and in space.

It is nice to see scientific discussions about NASA programs are still underway in this uncertain environment. We are lucky to have so many private groups like AIA to encourage and host such events.

The event starts at 7pm at the University of Maryland. It is free and open to the public. You can learn more about the event at this link.

You can also read more about the ISS archaeology program at this link.

Posted in ISS

Space Stories: Solar Orbiter Encounters Venus, White Dwarf Exoplanets, and the End of Gaia

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: ESA

Here are some recent stories of interest..

—European Space Agency: “Solar Orbiter Ready for Close Encounter with Venus’“

The European Space Agency (ESA) is ready to guide the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft through its closest encounter with Venus so far. Today’s flyby will be the first to significantly ‘tilt’ the spacecraft’s orbit and allow it to see the Sun’s polar regions, which cannot be seen from Earth. Studying the Sun’s poles will improve our understanding of solar activity, space weather, and the Sun-Earth connection.

—UC Irvine News: “UC Irvine Astronomers Gauge Livability of Exoplanets Orbiting White Dwarf Stars’“

Among the roughly 10 billion white dwarf stars in the Milky Way galaxy, a greater number than previously expected could provide a stellar environment hospitable to life-supporting exoplanets, according to astronomers at the University of California, Irvine. In a paper published recently in The Astrophysical Journal, a research team led by Aomawa Shields, UC Irvine associate professor of physics and astronomy, share the results of a study comparing the climates of exoplanets at two different stars. One is a hypothetical white dwarf that’s passed through much of its life cycle and is on a slow path to stellar death. The other subject is Kepler-62, a “main sequence” star at a similar phase in its evolution as our sun.

—Uppsala University: “Mission Accomplished for Space Telescope Gaia’“

The space telescope Gaia has created the largest three-dimensional map of the Milky Way ever. On January 15, 2025, Gaia shut down after 11 years in space. But the research on data Gaia collected will continue for many years to come. Gaia is a space telescope onboard a satellite that has orbited the sun for 11 years. With the help of astrometry, which is a technique to measure the positions, distances and movements of stars and other heavenly bodies, Gaia has been able to measure distances and luminosities for up to 2 billion stars, which is about 1% of all stars in the Milky Way.

Space Quotes: Are NASA’s Missions Already Threatened?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Testing of the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. (European Space Agency)

“NASA is about to lose a ton of experienced people who, up until now, have been considered a national asset.”

“Our immensely successful research enterprise is under attack.”

-Statement in a Washington Post article titled “Under Trump, NASA Meetings are On Hold and Missions are Up in the Air” pertaining to disruptions at NASA related to White House reforms (or general chaos if “reform” is too technical). The first quote is from an experienced engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The second quote is from Garth Illingworth, who is an astrophysicist at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He is also one of the scientists who brought us the amazing James Webb Space Telescope.