The next president of the United States might be the primary on this office to take a call from the moon and listen to a girl's voice on the phone. To do that, they have to first make a series of strategic space policy decisions. You also need slightly luck.
Huge government investments supports space activities, so the US President plays an outsized role in shaping space policy during his term in office.
Previous presidents have used this power to strengthen U.S. leadership in space while strengthening their presidential brand. The president's intervention helped the US land Astronauts on the lunar surfacefound lasting international partnerships with civilian space agencies abroad and led to many other essential space milestones.
But most presidential candidates refrain from discussing space policy in depth throughout the campaign, leaving voters unclear about their vision for the ultimate frontier.
For many candidates, delving into the depths of their space policy plans might be more trouble than it's value. For one thing, not every president is even given the chance to make meaningful and memorable space policy decisions, since space missions may be conducted over timelines that span a long time. And in past elections, those that do that showed their support for space initiatives often face criticism from their opponents for their high prices.
But the 2024 election is different. Both candidates have leadership experience in space policy, a rare treat for space enthusiasts casting their ballots this November.
As Researcher studying international affairs in spaceI’m keen on how these records interact with the strategic and sustainable use of this domain. A better look shows that former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have used their positions to consistently prioritize U.S. leadership in space, but with markedly different styles and results.
Trump's record on space policy
As president, Trump has established a lot of meaningful and lasting space policy decisions, while drawing more attention to his administration's space activities than his predecessors. He commonly took personal credit for ideas and successes that was before his term in office.
The former president oversaw the creation of the US Space Force and the restoration of the US Space Commandin addition to the National Space Council. These organizations support the event and operation of military space technologies, defend national security satellites in future conflicts, and coordinate amongst federal agencies operating within the space domain.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
He also had the most efficient record of Space policy guidelines in recent history. These policies make clear the U.S. government's goals in space, including the way it should achieve each We support and trust the industrial space sector, Track objects in Earth orbit And Protect satellites from cyber threats.
He has described his advocacy for the creation of the Space Force as certainly one of his own proudest achievements his term of office. However, this advocacy contributed polarized support for the brand new branch. This polarization broke all of the more incessantly Patterns of bipartisan public support for space programming.
Like many presidents, not all of Trump's visions for space were realized. He successfully NASA's most significant human spaceflight goal has been diverted from Mars back to the moon. But his stated goal was for astronauts to achieve the lunar surface by 2024 not realisticgiven his budget proposal for the agency.
If re-elected, the previous president should want to speed up NASA's lunar plans through further investment the agency's Artemis programwhich houses his lunar initiatives.
He can formulate the initiative like this: a brand new space race against China.
Harris' space policy record
The Biden administration has continued to support Trump-era initiatives. resist the temptation to undo something or cancel previous suggestions. His legacy in space is significantly less.
As chairman of the National Space CouncilHarris has set U.S. space policy priorities and represented the United States on the worldwide stage.
NASA/Joel Kowsky, CC BY-NC-ND
Notably, the Trump administration retained this position assigned to the vice chairman, which the president can change at will, a precedent that the Biden administration has maintained.
In this role, Harris led the The commitment of the United States to refrain from testing weapons in space that produce dangerous and long-lived space debris. This decision represents a hit for the United States in making space operations sustainable and setting an example for others within the international space community.
Like a number of the Trump administration's space policy priorities, not all of Harris' proposals found acceptance in Washington.
The Council plans to create a framework for comprehensive motion Regulation of economic space activities within the USA for instance stalled in Congress.
If adopted, these recent regulations would have ensured that future space activities, comparable to private corporations operating on the moon or Transporting tourists into orbit and backpass critical safety checks.
If elected, Harris could decide to proceed her efforts to develop responsible standards of behavior in space and organize oversight of the space industry.
Alternatively, she could cede the portfolio to her own vice chairman, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who has virtually no track record on space policy issues.
Stability in essential space policy decisions
Despite the 2 candidates' very different goals, voters can expect stability in U.S. space policy from this yr's election.
Given their past leadership, it’s unlikely that either candidate will seek to dramatically change the long-term missions that the most important government space agencies undertake throughout the upcoming presidential term. And neither is more likely to undermine the achievements of their predecessors.
image credit : theconversation.com