Squandering NASA’s Immense Soft Power
Keith’s note: I just talked about the recent Webb telescope image of the Ring Nebula on Al Jazeera Arabic. Before we started, the interpreter and I had a discussion about this and how excited she was since her son “eats this space stuff up”. I was on Alhurra yesterday talking about Voyager 2. I do this a lot. They were just as interested. Unfortunately NASA pays little – if any – attention to large parts of the global audience that it could otherwise be reaching. NASA branding is ubiquitous globally – but you rarely see anyone from NASA taking the time to talk to the TV networks that these people watch. Is it NASA’s responsibility to inform people in other nations what they are doing? No, it is not. But does America obtain potent, exciting, transcendant knowledge that people around the world seek out? Yes. And when you raise this issue with NASA they ignore you or simply offer a blank stare. Yet they jump up and down for a day or so every time a new country signs the Artemis Accords – then that’s it for that country. And while NASA Space Apps has been wildly successful reaching 162 countries and territories last year, NASA PAO only issued one press release – no outreach to any of the countries involved. I guess the Artemis Generation is only for some of us – and only some of the time – and only if good PR can be made here in the U.S. NASA is squandering its potent soft power at a time when the world could certainly use something uplifting to look forward to.
4 responses to “Squandering NASA’s Immense Soft Power”
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Sadly Keith, this once great and special agency has fallen victim to the deterioration experienced by most other federal agencies beginning in the early 2000’s. The agency I was once proud to work for has become not much more than a jobs program for those who either wouldn’t or couldn’t thrive in private industry. A mindset of simply “cashing a paycheck” every two weeks has permeated not only the Headquarters, but also the Centers. As we approach another mass-retirement season, the problem is only going to worsen I’m afraid.
Blame goes to the top….what do you expect from “leadership” of Bill Nelson?! NASA needs to be abolished in its current form! Never thought I’d say it, but I miss Bridenstein.
This is really well said, Keith. NASA may not have a duty to “inform” the citizens of other nations about NASA’s activities, since they are not U.S. taxpayers, but NASA (and its champions in Congress) regularly take credit for how civil space activities build/strengthen relationships with other nations (and their peoples and cultures). So that is one of the things that we taxpayers are paying for. For NASA to do the hard part of creating a relationship, but not the simple part of “retailing” that to people abroad and here… is just insane.
Forty years ago I remember attending a small reception at the Air and Space Museum for a new exhibit of Guion Bluford’s and Sally Ride’s Shuttle flight suits. NASA had invited the usual Space Subcommittee members and staff. I asked one of the NASA officials responsible for the event: what about the Congressional Black Caucus? Or the Women’s Caucus? The whole notion of marketing the civil space program to people *on their terms* was just completely beyond them.
So it’s not a new phenomenon. If NASA people don’t see the relevance of these stakeholders at home and abroad, why should the stakeholders support NASA?
You point out that NASA fails to reach people in other countries. I don’t think NASA does too well reaching citizens of the US who pay NASA’s bills. Its good for you-you’ve built a reputation as an on-line space expert. I wonder where NASA’s space experts are? Who are they? Are there any?