During a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Jared Isaacman, the nominee for NASA administrator, was — in a twist on the Will Smith ’90s tune — gettin’ squishy wit it.
Isaacman danced uncomfortably around pointed questions about whether he would stick to the space agency’s plan to first establish a permanent presence on the moon with the continuing Artemis program or prioritize the big challenge of sending a human to Mars, as his close associate Elon Musk would prefer.
Sen. Ted Cruz, the Republican chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which oversees NASA — who is also a resident of Houston, where NASA has large operations — was able to pry from Isaacman that he would pursue both goals simultaneously. This was after the nominee raised some alarm in his opening remarks by saying that sending U.S. astronauts to Mars was a priority "and along the way, we will inevitably have the capabilities to return to the moon.” Isaacman needs to keep his eye on the moon and resist Musk’s gravitational pull toward the red planet.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.