Obama's Sense of Drift on Space Policy

In response to a question by a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, President Barack Obama has made a statement about his plans for NASA that has sown confusion and just a little bit of concern among supporters of the US space program.

President Obama said:

"I will soon be appointing a new NASA director. I think it's important for the long term vibrancy of our space program to think through what NASA's core mission is and what the next great adventures and discoveries are under the NASA banner. The space shuttle program has yielded some extraordinary scientific discoveries, but I think it's fair to say that there's been a sense of drift to our space program over the last several years. We need to restore that sense of excitement and interest that existed around the space program. Shaping a mission for NASA that is appropriate for the 21st century is going to be one of the biggest tasks of my new NASA director. Once we have that vision, then I think that it's going to be much easier to build support for expanding our space efforts. What I don't what NASA to do is just limp along."

Leaving aside the fact that the head of NASA is an administrator and not a director, the statement has observers of space policy scratching their heads. As Jeff Foust, a space policy blogger points out, Obama's statement on "a mission for NASA that is appropriate for the 21st century" seems to be at odds with but the FY 2010 budget document and the most recent campaign policy document that explicitly supported President Bush's return to the Moon program.

So the question arises, since the Obama administration has already endorsed the Vision for Space Exploration, what is President Obama thinking about when he talks about a new mission? A number of possibilities exist.

First, President Obama has simply forgotten what the budget document his own administration put out actually stated. Media reports suggest that Obama is "overwhelmed" by the economic crisis, so it is possible that the fact that his administration has already endorsed the exploration program has slipped his mind.

Second, President Obama is thinking of an enhancement of the exploration program. That might include an expedition to an Earth approaching asteroid, in addition to the lunar component, or perhaps an explicit endorsement for going to Mars.

Third, President Obama may be contemplating yet another space flip flop, cancelling or delaying the exploration program in favor of an Earth observation effort to study climate change.

President Obama has flip flopped on space policy before. Obama's first space policy statement called for delaying the development of the new Constellation space system for five years to pay for an education initiative. Then the space policy was modified to only delay the lunar component. Then, as Florida's electoral votes came into play last August, President Obama endorsed the Bush space exploration initiative. That initiative was further endorsed in the 2010 budget.

Add to that the continued speculation over who will be Obama's NASA administrator-names of military Generals and famous scientists have cropped up-and one gets the sense that if there is a sense of drift in the US space program, it is in the Obama White House. How things will shake out can only be speculated on at the current time.

Sources: Obama calls NASA an agency 'adrift' and in need of new mission, Mark Matthews, Orlando Sentinel, March 11th, 2009

Obama's curious NASA comments, Jeff Foust, Space Politics, March 11th, 2009

Barack Obama Pits Space Explorers Against School Children, Mark R. Whittington, Associated Content, December 2nd, 2007

Barack Obama Flip Flops on NASA Funding, Mark R. Whittington, Associated Content, August 2nd, 2008