How NASA might change under Donald Trump

While the details remain the same, the transition team is reviewing NASA and his work has begun drafting potential executive orders for changes to space policy under the Trump Administration.

Sources familiar with the five people on the team evaluating the space agency and its exploration plans over the past six weeks were careful to point out that such teams are advisory in nature. They do not formally set policy, and their work does not always indicate the direction the next presidential administration will take.

Still, while trying to set clear goals for NASA and civilian space policy, the ideas under review reflect the Trump administration’s desire for “big changes” at NASA to improve both the efficiency and speed of its programs.

It’s not business as usual

The transition team is grappling with an agency with a large number of field centers — ten spread across the United States, as well as an official headquarters in Washington, D.C. — and big, slow-moving programs that cost a lot of money. delayed in giving results.

“It won’t be business as usual,” said one person familiar with the group’s meetings. The debating mindset focuses on results and speed.

A little less than a month later, on January 20, Donald Trump will be inaugurated for a second term as president. On that day, he is expected to sign a number of orders related to the issues he campaigned on. This could include space policy, but more likely that will wait until his presidency.

One source said the space transition team is working on ideas that Trump has talked about publicly, including his interest in Mars. For example, on the campaign trail this fall, Trump cited SpaceX founder Elon Musk and his desire to settle on Mars, both in terms of time and money, during the campaign.

“We are the leader in space over Russia and China… This is my plan, I will talk to Elon.” Trump said in September. “Elon is launching these rocket ships because we want to get to Mars by the end of my term, and we want to have a great military defense in space.”

Ideas under consideration

The transition team is discussing possible elements of an executive order or other policy directives. They include:

• Setting the goal of sending humans to the Moon and Mars by 2028
• Canceling the expensive Space Launch System rocket and possibly the Orion spacecraft
• Consolidation of Goddard Space Flight Center and Ames Research Center at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama
• Maintaining a small administration presence in Washington, but otherwise moving headquarters to a field center
• Rapid redesign of the Artemis moon program to make it more efficient