2020 Democratic Party platform endorses Trump's NASA moon program
2020 Democratic Party platform endorses Trump's NASA moon program
Source: The Hill
Call it a triumph of NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine’s relentless bipartisan approach to space policy. In any case, those who support the space agency’s Artemis back-to-the-moon program have found encouragement in the space plank of the Democratic Party’s draft platform for 2020. “We support NASA's work to return Americans to the moon and go beyond to Mars, taking the next step in exploring our solar system.”
The statement is tucked into the section called “Investing in the Engines of Job Creation.” The NASA paragraph also supports the International Space Station (ISS), research, development and exploration in general and Earth science. The Democrats’ implicit support for Project Artemis represents a break from President Barack Obama’s space program that mocked the very idea of going back to the moon. The draft platform also rejects an idea by former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver to turn the space agency into a climate change agency, which would have ended the Artemis program. As far as the paragraph goes, the Democrats have endorsed the Trump space policy.
No mention is made of commercial involvement in either resupplying the ISS or landing Americans on the moon. House Democrats have advanced a bill that rejects NASA’s idea of procuring lunar landers commercially. They are also trying to foreclose the notion of a permanent lunar base, the use of the moon’s resources and, indeed, any lunar surface activities not related to practicing for a human mission to Mars.
Biden might also commit to asking Jim Bridenstine to stay on as NASA administrator. Bridenstine had to endure a contentious confirmation process when he was first nominated by President Trump. Since he was confirmed, Bridenstine has won over many of his opponents and has proven to be wildly popular on both sides of the aisle.
Read more: https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/510173-2020-democratic-party-platform-endorses-trumps-nasa-moon-program
= new reply since forum marked as read
