President Donald Trump's second term began with bold pronouncements regarding human missions to Mars, but also with significant confusion surrounding NASA's interim leadership.
During his inaugural address on January 20th, Trump declared, “We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars,” a statement that received enthusiastic applause. However, the specifics and timelines remained undefined. This echoed similar pronouncements from his previous campaign.
The departure of Bill Nelson and Pam Melroy from their respective positions at the end of the previous administration left a void in NASA’s leadership. Initial announcements saw Jim Free, then Cathy Koerner, listed as acting administrator on the NASA website. Lori Glaze also assumed a new acting role. While Free was widely anticipated to take on the acting administrator role, a subsequent White House statement unexpectedly designated Janet Petro, Director of the Kennedy Space Center, for the position.
Historically, the associate administrator has served as acting administrator, but this is not mandatory. The White House retains the authority to select anyone for this temporary role. The reason for these conflicting announcements remains unclear. A NASA spokesperson didn't immediately respond to inquiries on January 20th.
The acting administrator's tenure is likely to be short-lived. On January 20th, the White House formally nominated Jared Isaacman, the founder of Shift4 and a private astronaut, as NASA administrator. His nomination, announced previously in December, awaits Senate Commerce Committee confirmation.