Billionaire investor Jared Isaacman has been formally approved as the new administrator of NASA, capping an extraordinary nomination process where Trump nominated him, pulled the nomination, and then submitted his name once more.
The 42-year-old, an private pilot who became the first civilian to perform a spacewalk, is also the first NASA administrator in many years to come entirely from outside government.
For a significant portion of the space community, the ultimate measure of his time in office will be determined by one key benchmark: if NASA can return humans to the lunar surface ahead of the Chinese space program.
The administration has stated explicitly a ambition for the America to build a lasting moon outpost, both to enable harvesting materials and to function as a staging point for journeys to the Red Planet.
On This week, the U.S. Senate approved the nomination with a 67-30 vote.
Trump initially pulled Isaacman's nomination in the spring, citing a "comprehensive examination of prior associations".
At the point, the president was engaged in a dispute with Elon Musk, one of his largest political donors, with whom Isaacman has professional ties.
Isaacman has stated he is now aligned with the presidential objective to extract lunar resources, putting him at odds with Elon Musk, who has said that focus on the moon is a detour from the primary objective of travelling to Mars.
In the ongoing global space race, countries are racing to exploit the moon's resources.
“Now is not the time for hesitation but a time for action because if we lose ground, if we stumble, we may never catch up, and the results could shift the global dynamics here on Earth,” he told lawmakers during his hearing.
The business leader sees fostering more industry players as essential for achieving those targets, according to a recently disclosed memo outlining his vision for the agency.
In his testimony, he supported the plan, which he developed when he was originally put forward, but noted it was a evolving strategy.
His openness to multiple providers could also create a conflict with Musk. Recently, he praised the award of a major contract to Jeff Bezos's company, which is one of the primary competitors of Musk's SpaceX.
In the strategy paper, he recommended the agency should forge stronger ties with universities and academic institutions, envisioning the agency as a "amplifier for scientific discovery".
He pointed to the scheduled 2027 launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope as a prime illustration.
"And if we be on the verge of something groundbreaking - like deploying the Roman Telescope - I will leave no stone unturned to make it happen, even funding it myself if that's what it requires to deliver the scientific results," he wrote.
According to analyses, his wealth is pegged at around $1.2bn, primarily derived from his financial services firm and the divestment of his business that provided flight training and operated a private fleet of military aircraft.
The top job at NASA will be his maiden role in politics, a departure from the immediate predecessors appointed as NASA chief.
He will succeed the former transportation secretary, who has acted as acting administrator since the summer.
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