At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Jared Isaacman, who serves as the president, Donald Trump 's pick for NASA administrator, said he would not allow Elon Musk To shape his work as chief of the space administration.
Isaacman told the Senate Commerce Committee that he wouldn’t permit Musk, the SpaceX chief executive who spearheaded government efficiency initiatives at the White House, to have significant control or undue sway over the space agency.
My allegiance lies with this country, the space administration, and their groundbreaking mission," Isaacman responded when asked by Senator Gary Peters (D-MI). "One can only assume that back in the 1960s, Administrator [James] Webb would have participated in photo opportunities and embraced feedback from every contractor involved in the project.
“But they’re the contractors; NASA is the customer. We hire them, not the other way around,” he said, speaking about SpaceX, which works with NASA as a contractor.
Trump's NASA pick also reiterated that he plans to go forward with missions to the moon while pursuing the wider goal of sending humans to Mars in the future.
As the president mentioned, our main focus will be on dispatching astronauts to Mars. During this process, we will also develop the capacity to revisit the Moon and assess the potential scientific, economic, and national security advantages of having a sustained presence there,” Isaacman noted.
Astronaut Stranded in Space for Nine Months Deems Mission 'Successful'
The Artemis project, where the United States aims to return to the lunar surface, had its first uncrewed mission in 2022. The first crewed mission, which will orbit the moon, is scheduled to launch in 2026, while the crewed mission to the lunar surface is scheduled for 2027.
The Artemis III mission scheduled for 2027 aims to mark the return of humans to the lunar surface, which has not occurred since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.