What a buffoon.

Yes, Trump did set in motion our plan to return to the moon – Project Artemis. But with the same order he ended the program that had us landing on asteroids, which was far more valuable in terms of learning about deep space, researching ways to harvest minerals, and testing ways we could intercept a large asteroid heading towards earth.

Did he do this for his love of space flight? No. He did it because the billionaires whispering in his ear want a shot at the commercial contracts.

Did he appoint an apolitical scientist or former astronaut to head NASA as has been standard protocol for ages? No, he appointed Jim Bridenstine, a Republican congressman from Oklahoma who has struggled to get funding approved because he won’t produce a detailed budget – only ballpark figures that would give him more flexibility to shift how funds are spent without approval.

Of course NASA doesn’t have any of the things it needs to get to the moon, so it’s almost all having to be built from scratch. A totally new lunar lander is needed for instance, and as you’d expect, Bridenstine is pushing for it to be completely outsourced. NASA (your taxes) will help fund the development, but the private companies will get to retain ownership of product. A bill to ensure NASA retained ownership of the hardware it’s paying to build was introduced and promptly went nowhere. Bridenstine ended up getting his way, of course, with initial contracts handed out to both Musk and Bezos.

Bridenstine hasn’t been TOO bad – he certainly could have done worse, but we deserve someone better.

So yes, on the bright side, more money is flowing into NASA and toward space exploration. On the other side, that money is going right into the hands of billionaires who create the products that they will then sell back to us.

The idea that Trump cares about space exploration is laughable. But what about Harris? Aldrin’s statement didn’t mention anything about her. Well, we don’t know about Harris because she’s never been president.

What we do know is that Biden appointed yet another politician to the top spot. Yay! But he also appointed a climate scientist to second-in-command, which is consistent with the party line that, at this time, the NASA budget should be focused on climate research over space exploration — not that anyone is listening to their warnings about the climate anyway. Biden has endorsed the Artemis program to return to the moon. However, Biden also “initiated an internal review” of the program in order to get an actual, realistic budget and timeline for completion. In summary, he really hasn’t helped or hurt NASA.

Neither candidate (or their parties) has shown significant care for NASA over the last eight years. With so many critical issues in the country right now, love for NASA has taken a back seat. That’s unlikely to change under a Harris administration.

That said, I’m voting for the person (and party) who believes in science, and who recognizes that the disastrous consequences of climate change are nigh, and who embraces concepts like “equity” and “inclusion”. Because at the end of the day, exploring space and protecting our planet are pursuits that affect our entire species, and the tools needed to ensure the long term survival of our species should belong to the people and not someone whose net worths is greater than some nations’. I’m voting for Kamala Harris.