NASA Director Nominee Jared Isaacman on Returning to the Moon versus Focusing On Trip to Mars

President Donald J. Trump’s pick for new NASA administrator is the entrepreneur, pilot, philanthropist, and astronaut Jared Isaacman, who made headlines when he made the first spacewalk on a private mission, the Polaris Dawn.

As Isaacman is about to lead NASA face senators today (9) on his confirmation hearing, he is torn between two competing priorities: to return to the moon or to focus on going to Mars?

In his written statement, he states that the space agency ‘will prioritize an astronaut mission to Mars’, while also alerting that most American space programs ‘are over budget and behind schedule’.

Reuters reported:

“’We will prioritize sending American astronauts to Mars. Along the way, we will inevitably have the capabilities to return to the moon and determine the scientific, economic, and national security benefits of maintaining a presence on the lunar surface’, said Jared Isaacman, a 42-year-old billionaire entrepreneur, in written testimony for his U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation confirmation hearing on Wednesday.”

Watch: Jared during his spacewalk in the Polaris Dawn mission – “From here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.”

“Beautiful world!” 一 Jared Isaacman’s first words as he looked down at Earth during the spacewalk.

“From here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.” pic.twitter.com/CohsuQAjZ7

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) September 12, 2024

“Reuters reported on Monday that Isaacman told Senate staff last week that returning humans to the moon before China sends its own astronauts there is a national imperative. His remarks allayed some concerns that NASA’s multibillion-dollar moon effort could be upended by Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s focus on Mars as a top destination for U.S. astronauts.”

NASA’s Artemis moon program was created by Trump in his first term to speed up the U.S. return to the moon, a ‘proving ground’ for the missions to Mars.

“After his assurances to lawmakers about the moon strategy, Isaacman’s written testimony raises questions on whether his prioritization of Mars would affect NASA’s existing moon missions or represent a rebranding of the program to give Mars a more central emphasis in the space agency’s strategy.”

NASA has already spent billions of dollars in the delayed Lunar program.

“But in his second term, Trump has fixated on Mars in public remarks, while Musk, who spent $250 million in support of Trump’s presidential campaign and pushed for Isaacman’s nomination, openly considers the moon a distraction from his ultimate goal to send crews to the Red Planet.”

Read more:

Space X’s Polaris Dawn Flies on a Record-High Orbit, Will Attempt First Private Spacewalk by Billionaire Jared Isaacman

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