NASA Weekly Update from the Administrator – March 30, 2020

Thank you for all your questions in last week’s Ask the Administrator. Our agency’s response to COVID-19 is admirable and characteristic of the strength and spirit of our team. If you haven’t had a chance to view the recording, you can do so here. These difficult challenges have a way of bringing out our best and because of that I believe we will be better for it. Please continue to stay in frequent contact with your supervisor and check the NASA People website regularly for updates. I also encourage you to familiarize yourself with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) COVID-19 symptom tracker website to keep you and your family safe. Reliable information is always important in a time like this. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has also set up a rumor control website to dispel myths and prevent incorrect information from spreading.

 

·        Top News: Last week, we selected our first U.S. commercial provider under the Gateway Logistics Services contract to deliver cargo and other supplies to the Artemis program’s Gateway in lunar orbit. This is an important step forward and an exciting milestone as we continue to make progress on our goal to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024!

 

·        Next Up: Only two more days are left to submit your applications for our next class of astronauts. We need the best, the brightest and the bravest to answer the call to explore the Moon and go farther into the solar system than humanity has ever gone before. Submit your applications by 11:59 p.m. EDT Tuesday, March 31, to apply. America is preparing to take humanity’s next giant leap, and you can help us take those important next steps.

 

·        Shout Out: I usually like to highlight one team each week and their accomplishments. But this last Thursday marked one year since Vice President Mike Pence announced President Donald Trump’s directive to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. I am very happy with the amazing progress we have made, together as one team. This video chronicles just some of the amazing milestones you have helped us achieve since then. Great work everyone!

 

I am so excited for our agency to fly this helicopter on Mars. The Mars Helicopter, which will catch a ride to the Red Planet this summer on our Perseverance Rover, will be the first time humanity has ever flown an aircraft on another planet! As a former pilot and connoisseur of cool stuff that flies, I cannot wait for it to lift off from the Martian landscape and fly over the horizon.

 

 

Ad astra,

Jim Bridenstine