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Looking inside
When Joe Biden takes office, NASA may find itself making a tough pivot.
The Trump administration has given a major boost to outward exploration, with ambitious goals such as sending manned missions to the Moon and ultimately to Mars. But Biden may be less interested in manned missions, SpaceNews reports, potentially putting them in the background for a renewed attention to the study of climate change.
Blue point
The report is mainly speculation because Biden has not yet commented on NASA’s changing priorities. But SpaceNews points to a line from the Democratic Party platform, released in July, that says “Democrats also support strengthening NASA’s Earth observation missions and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to better understand how climate change is affecting our home planet. “. Notably, the platform did not mention the Trump administration’s 2024 goal.
SpaceNews he also highlighted the remarks of former NASA CEO Lori Garver at a conference on Saturday.
“Managing the Earth’s ability to support human life and biodiversity will likely, in my view, dominate a civilian space agenda for a Biden-Harris administration,” Garver said at the event, adding that “I don’t know anyone who thinks that we will get there by 2024 “and no matter who won, this would have been an impossible goal”.
Look at the ground
Focusing more on climate change and our planet could be a popular move. A 2019 poll revealed that Americans, unlike Trump, didn’t really care about reaching Mars compared to other NASA priorities like climate change or finding ways to repel killer asteroids.
“NASA is a national resource and, if properly directed and promoted, we can make a significant contribution to the support of humanity,” Garver added.
READ MORE: The Biden administration is expected to emphasize climate science on lunar exploration at NASA [SpaceNews]
More on Biden: Biden says he will join the Paris climate agreement on the first day of his presidency
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