NASA Weekly Update from the Administrator – April 13, 2020
Determining to help others in times of distress rather than focusing only on your own needs is a great demonstration of character. I have been overwhelmed by the many stories of how the NASA team is helping their coworkers and our various communities across the nation. Every effort, whether big or small is significant. For example, the NASA at Home website’s collective efforts have garnered more than 483,000 page views and 89,000 mentions on social media that potentially reached more than 4 billion people! There is no doubt that people across the world appreciate the lengths our team will go to help during this unprecedented pandemic. You are making a difference when people need it the most. Thank you!
- Top News: 50 years ago today, Apollo 13’s crippled spacecraft tested the mettle of NASA and our country. Talented Americans accomplished a seemingly impossible rescue mission through dogged persistence and uncommon courage. This proud lesson of the past proves that together, we can overcome any difficulty. I am confident that an unprecedented and unparalleled future awaits our nation in space because of the extraordinary American spirit and its unmatched capability to do hard things. Read the op-ed Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell and I co-authored to mark the golden anniversary of this unforgettable mission.
- Next Up: NASA’s Curious Universe is our latest addition to NASA’s podcast portfolio. The premiere episode debuts today and dives into what the agency has discovered about our home planet, in honor of the upcoming 50th anniversary of Earth Day. NASA Earth scientists and others explain how we are investing in future exploration to better understand this beautiful world.
- Shout Out: Last week, the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate selected five university teams to support our agency’s air flight research. Over the next four years these teams will help NASA break down barriers and propel aviation technology forward. ARMD’s continued outreach to the university community is exemplary leadership. These all-hands-on-deck approaches to research will quicken advancements in aviation technology.
Challenges, trials, and plain bad luck all hold the potential to either tear down everything, or be the catalyst to propel us higher than we ever thought possible. Those who carried out the Apollo 13 rescue mission never let fear paralyze them; instead they worked hard together to find a solution. A successful future for the Artemis program will demand the same courage, ingenuity, and devotion demonstrated in Apollo 13, and I know we have what it takes to get the job done!
Ad astra,
Jim Bridenstine
