NASA's Global Reach: Untapped And Under-appreciated Soft Power
@JimBridenstine @NASA Hey nasa my name is Matías Paliz I’m 10 years old and I’m from ecuador and I’m using my fathers account ,I want to land on the the surface of Mars and on the moon how can I become an austronaut
— Max Paliz (@mpaliz) July 9, 2020
Hi @NASA @NASA_es She is my niece Constanza Rafael she is 8 years old mexican and dreams of being an astronaut like @Astro_Christina @Astro_Jessica and the mexicans @astrocarmenfeli y @Dr_Neri_Vela It wouldbe very important for her to send you a greeting to motivate her Thanks 🙂 pic.twitter.com/UDKgrwcJw8
— Guillermo R. Escutia (@grescutia) July 8, 2020
Keith’s note: NASA has global reach and soft power that it simply doesn’t understand or appreciate.
– How NASA Uses DIME/Soft Power To Extend A Global Reach (Update), Earlier post
– NASA’s Global Branding Reach Is Often Under Appreciated, Earlier post
– Understanding NASA’s Global Reach, Earlier post
I understand and appreciate how nice it is to have this type of enquiry. The response is that NASA opens for applications for astronauts on as needed basis (I don’t think there is an annual uptake) and the requirements are posted, link to previous announcement. Something like this could be added to the K-12 part of the website, as “how to become a NASA astronaut” so it can easily be found.
But when did NASA become an instrument of US foreign policy ? Why should NASA per se “care” about it’s soft power and it’s impact on other countries ? NASA should IMHO care about it’s impact on the US economy and how to garner influence in US politics. Sure, it’s something the US government should take interest in, as a measure of US prestige on the world stage, and that is possibly the angle … NASA/US should actively recruit participants (astronauts, engineers, scientists, etc) from other countries as a way to promote the US (and possibly as a way to cut other countries off at the pass); so which department in the US government is most interested in foreign policy …
NASA has been an instrument of soft power since its inception. Indeed the creation of a civilian space agency was done in part to project peaceful tone around the world and in contrast to the Soviet’s overt military themed efforts.
When? 1958.
See
https://history.nasa.gov/sp…
Section 205.
EXACTLY
Sec. 205. The Administration, under the foreign policy guidance of the President, may engage in a program of international cooperation in work done pursuant to the Act, and in the peaceful application of the results thereof, pursuant to agreements made by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
When I was a kid in the early 1970’s, I wrote to NASA and a couple contractors like North American and got in the mail – all the way to New Zealand – some great documents and pictures!! I used to wonder if I could be a Space Engineer or even an Astronaut. In 1972, it would not have been possible for someone like me to do these things.
But now: New Zealanders put satellites into orbit and it’s only a matter of time before an ex-Patriot Kiwi joins the Astronaut Corps and flies in space. And a young woman; Dr Michele Bannister is an acclaimed Planetary Astronomer – she felt the calling of the stars at an early age. Her Father, Michael told me so.
*THIS* is the power of space. Not just NASA, but it’s subsidiaries and branches inspire people from all over the world to Rise to the Challenge of Space. I have never forgotten that two of the crew of ‘Columbia’ were from far-flung places and they converged via NASA to explore the promise of the science of space. I have little doubt that Mr Paliz may, through his passion; ascend to the highest possibilities. I hope I live long enough to see him make footprints on Mars.
I have faith.
Something I wrote a few years ago about the power of which you speak:
While succeeding generations of explorers, often at great risk, continued to vault the chasms between the known and the unknown, their society’s younger generations back home came of age. Those children’s worldviews were shaped in no small way by their awareness of these explorations, the possibilities they engendered, and the character they required. Perhaps the most profound realities impressed upon their developing intellects were the most obvious: that lands beyond their own existed and that persons like themselves could reach them.
Can we today, with our jaded condescension toward the past and cynicism about the future, even begin to grasp how vitally important these two revelations were to their growing minds? Can we appreciate how they may have helped to form the personalities of those thousands who went on to achieve greatness across all human pursuits?
Perhaps not, but I am confident that we here at least will admit that an awareness of exploration—and not necessarily just space exploration—has shaped our intellects, even if we can’t remember precisely how.
New territory, new understanding, new us
Human exploration of new places and its fostering of intellect almost inevitably contributed to a new type of exploration, the pursuit of deeper understanding of both the natural universe and ourselves as thinking social beings. Under the probing of our increasingly-clever investigations, the ocean depths, Earth’s biosphere, the human organism, and thousands of other “territories” have continued to reveal their secrets. And let us not forget one of the most iconic images ever, exploration or no: Apollo 8’s Earthrise. This picture’s profundity derived not from its pointing outward but inward, back to ourselves. Did we really understand our place in the physical universe before explorers Borman, Lovell, and Anders brought home that picture? Expanding human consciousness, indeed.
It is not outrageous, then, to claim that who we are and what we have achieved as humans derive in no small measure from our having been explorers. And this isn’t only because frontiers test the best in us. What may be substantially more important is that, down through the centuries, young developing minds became aware that seemingly boundless frontiers existed and that humans were capable of conquering them. Maturing intellects who learn such simple truths form expansive perspectives about themselves and their relationship to the universe, including:
that which is can be exceeded,
that which is unknown can be probed and understood,
and that which daunts us can be overcome.
From Exploring Space, Finding Ourselves
https://www.thespacereview….
That piece from 2013 reached out and deeply touched at least one reader – me. I recall it well; still lives in my browser history!
Keith’s relentless PAO tirade is proper, in my view. But whenever he posts a new piece, I also recall my own experiences in Central America, traveling to the smallest villages, where many conflate ‘NASA’ and ‘Excellence’. I’ve seen the same in the Middle East, and in Europe.
While my experiences of course are entirely apocryphal, they are also consistent. Wearing a NASA shirt at The Louvres (standing to see Mona Lisa), I was engaged by several other tourists, all of who wanted to know if I worked for NASA! (Sadly, hearing the answer, interest shifted elsewhere). I’ve had similar experiences in Egypt, and Jordan.
I don’t know what else NASA could or should do, or what our host would like them to do. In so many places NASA is the face of America and of American excellence. Perhaps the Agency has already succeeded?
Thank you, Michael. I am honored!
I can’t speak for Keith, but my two main points from the essay that directly speak to “what to do” in this regard (both domestically & internationally) which are actually kinda aligned with your final question/point are
(a) Have a clearly defined coherent and consistent program of exploration (the ‘doing’);
(b) Effectively engage the public with that program of exploration through competent relatable story-telling (the ‘sharing’).
Until these two aspects of the matter are mastered, any other methods of outreach will remain hindered and diluted.
You got more joy than I did, writing to Boeing etc from Oz. Luckily BAe recruited me (from Oz, as a graduate engineer) and the rest is history.
I did the same thing in the mid 1960s and got a box – literally – of stuff from NASA.
In the 70s I got some stuff but the time of sending whole boxes’ worth had ended. Interestingly enough, though, I got some stuff FROM such a box someone else had received but two or more decades later…they figured I’d appreciate it. I very much did.
Why do you so often highlight NASA’s soft power in South America? You wouldn’t believe NASA’s reach in Asia, particularly China. Always kinda surprising to me considering technically NASA is a competitor:
I highlight what I see. Show me examples elsewhere I and I will highlight them too.
On DevelopSpace.info/initialcrew it describes how the very historic initial permanent crew could be Americans but with many being naturalized citizens thereby bring their language, talents, training, and culture to the base. That initial eight would be able to speak to about 70% of the world in a language they could understand. If done correctly, America could open the moon and the rest of the solar system to the countries of the world. DevelopSpace.info/internati….
Keith, I’m curious to hear what you see as potential uses of this soft power. How would NASA, or the US Government, take advantage of it? What would be the benefits and to whom would they accrue?
To some extent, I would say that this soft power exists precisely because NASA doesn’t exploit it. It exists as a byproduct of the amazing work done at the agency. Attempts to exploit it could, potentially, devalue it as other countries began to view such attempts with suspicion. What comes to mind is the Dept. of State, whose funding and support of various public engagement projects in other countries is often viewed with suspicion. State’s participation can make potential partners shy away from a project.
The story reminds me of a plotline in “For All Mankind.”