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Mike Pence’s space council is big on business, small on science
Yesterday evening, Vice President Mike Pence announced the candidates asked to serve on the National Space Council's Users Advisory Group. Members will have to be officially selected by the Administrator of NASA (a position which remains open). The selections draw heavily from the space industry, including former astronauts and executives from private spaceflight companies, and a few conservative political appointees.
Trump's budget reportedly proposes an end to ISS funding by 2025
It appears that there's a troubling line item in President Trump's proposed budget. According to The Verge reporter Loren Grush, the proposal ends funding for the International Space Station by 2025. It's important to note that the final budget won't be released until the 12th of February, so this item could change then, but The Verge spoke with two insiders who confirmed that this item would be in the final budget.
Trump to sign directive ordering NASA to return to the Moon
President Trump's administration hasn't been shy about wanting to put people back on the Moon, and now it's taking action to make sure that happens. In a statement, the White House said the President would sign Space Policy Directive 1, which orders NASA to lead an "innovative space exploration program" that sends astronauts to the Moon and, "eventually," Mars. Details of what the policy entails aren't available at this point, but the signing will take place at 3 PM ET. The date isn't an accident -- it's the 45th anniversary of the landing for the last crewed Moon mission, Apollo 17.
Vice President Pence vows US astronauts will return to the moon
NASA has been talking a big game about Mars for a while now, but there's been a lingering question of how it will get there. After all, the agency just doesn't have the budget to put astronauts on the red planet. Back in June, the Associate Administrator of Human Exploration and Operations for NASA, Bill Gerstenmaier, confirmed as much. Now, Vice President Mike Pence, who leads President Trump's Space Council, has confirmed a shift in destination. The immediate goal for US space exploration is to return astronauts to the moon.
Russia and the US will work together to build a moon base
There have been rumors that the US and Russia would be teaming up to build a lunar base. Sources within the country told Popular Mechanics that the head of their space organization, Roscosmos, was set to announce a partnership agreement with NASA this week. Now, Roscosmos and NASA have both released statements saying stating the two countries' shared "common vision for human exploration." They go on to say that Russia and the US will cooperate on a Moon program, specifically mentioning the Deep Space Gateway by name. That's the base NASA plans to build in lunar orbit starting in the 2020s (the statement sets a mid-2020s goal for beginning the project). The release also mentions that other international partners are considering signing onto the lunar base.
Trump's NASA nominee is willing to study climate change... on Mars
Good news: NASA's administrator nominee is fine with studying climate change! Just not Earth's climate change. In answers to a Senate questionnaire, Rep. Jim Bridenstine says it's important to understand why Mars changed so dramatically, losing its magnetic field and oceans to become the barren world it is today. If we know more about the Red Planet, he argues, we could "inform our understanding of Earth." There's a degree of truth to this, but history and Bridenstine's actions suggest it could be about diverting attention away from climate change issues on our homeworld.
VP Mike Pence visits NASA
In a speech during his visit, the vice president said: "And with the National Space Council, we will grab that destiny with both hands and go to work with each and every one of you."
Revived National Space Council will guide Trump admin policy
Today Donald Trump signed an executive order reviving the National Space Council, an organization that existed in two previous iterations, from 1958 - 1973, and more recently from 1989 to 1993. President Obama raised the idea of reviving the council during a speech in 2008, but did not do it. In this version, the council will be chaired by Vice President Mike Pence while other members include the secretaries of State, Defense, Commerce and Homeland Security. The list doesn't stop there, but the council's exact responsibilities aren't quite clear. Its directive is to advise the president, plus coordinate and implement his space policy, however it "shall not interfere with the existing lines of authority in or responsibilities of any agencies."
