Keith’s note: One of the most awe inspiring things NASA does is Astrobiology – the search for life elsewhere in the universe. Yet despite this astonishing work, the NASA Astrobiology program is a scattered mess and stumbles upon itself to engage the public. And it can’t even link NASA’s few stories on this topic to their own program. Oh yes: the White House talks about this topic now and it is likely to get mentioned in the State of the Union speech tonight – one way or another. The trailer for Apple TV’s “For All Mankind” season 5 trailer just dropped – and they open with a prime task: “our mission is to find life”. Here’s a chance to expand NASA’s reach beyond the usual suspects – and maybe even make a few converts. Why not have weekly chats about this? What’s accurate and what is not – and why. The future of Mars Sample Return and the presidential mandate to go to Mars would seemingly be ample rationale for doing so. Just sayin’.

Keith’s note: Yesterday President Trump tossed out his quasi-official proof of alien life – and visitations – directive on social media. NASA has not said anything about this. Oddly, they certainly had quite a lot to say about the exact same topic a few years ago in a formal report. As such I’m waiting for the formal Executive Order – maybe that will pry something out of NASA PAO. Meanwhile I did a lot of global TV today. (more below)

Keith’s note: I tweeted this the other day. NASA is promoting their Career Pathways intern program. Oddly every field center is listed – except NASA Goddard – which is in the midst of a significant downsizing effort.

Keith’s note: NASA posted this interesting news on Friday: “Perseverance Rover Completes First AI-Planned Drive on Mars“. This is a standard press release thing without much thought as to how it could be enhanced and re-purposed synergistically. Don’t mention the astrobiology or astrogeology science either. Just write it and push it out – on a Friday afternoon. In fact it could be used to leverage things NASA wants to be known for outside of the JPL robotics bubble. Done properly, White House OSTP; the tech, science, and commerce sectors; and other trending initiatives could be leveraged so as to boost visibility of NASA’s participation. But NASA is still kinda shy about all of that self promotion. NASA could do a vastly better job promoting all of its cool tech. Indeed, as budgets shrink NASA needs to do a much better job explaining itself. The Moon mission glow will (sadly) fade all too soon. (More below)

Keith’s note: (reposted from LinkedIn) Message from Sami Aziz, Head of Live at NASA. Sami and his team snagged some Emmy awards and yet NASA can’t figure out how to retain this proven talent – especially as the agency is about to send a human recon mission back to the Moon. Fair winds Sami. This is baffling. (Full note below.)

Keith’s note: NASA has been closing its libraries for a long time. Budgetary and building issues are usually the prime reason. Usually, stuff gets moved around and put in storage for years until the storage costs mount and then a portion ends up in someone’s library – somewhere – and the rest gets shipped to some generic GSA warehouse – or thrown away. Now it is GSFC’s turn to go through this painful process – not only with their collection but also the NASA HQ library that was moved there when the HQ library was converted to a visitor center. They have assured NASA HQ that nothing valuable will be lost. NASA’s record in this regard is somewhat rocky. More below.

Keith’s note: this is an except from the GESTA IFPTE Local 29 blog Building Closure Updates 27 Dec 2025 – it is important to note that this library also includes the contents of the NASA HQ library which was closed and removed to make a visitor’s center. More below

Keith’s note: Playing with memes – prompted by other memes. Much of the what is being pumped out on social media by the Administration and its agencies seems to be more about bullying and less about inspiration.

Keith’s note: I did an A.I. search. There are approx 114,500 grammar, junior, high schools (public & private) in America. Space them out from here to the Moon (239,000 miles) and you get one every 2 miles. 3 million classrooms is 12 per mile. That infrastructure houses 55 million students – the Artemis Generation. As a child of the Apollo Generation I think a successful metric for NASA outreach for Artemis II and beyond would be a NASA poster, study plan, model, webcast in every classroom in America. Prove me wrong. NASA has had a decade or more to plan this. (Thanks Grok!)

Keith’s note: According to @NASAEarthWatch ‪@nasaearthwatch.bsky.social‬ “Goddard Space Center library is due to disappear. It is not about when, but how and where the books will go. Another casualty in this relentless attack to #science and culture. It has a Facebook page. Let’s see how long it lasts.”

Keith’s note: Sami Aziz, an Emmy-Winning Creative Leader and Head of Live at NASA posted this on LinkedIn: “Tonight, we did it again. Our “2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA” broadcast has already been honored with the News and Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Live News Special. And tonight, at the 76th Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards, we won again for Excellence in Production Technology Application. This Emmy recognizes the engineering achievement required to tell the story of the eclipse across 3,000 miles of North America, from Mazatlán, Mexico to Houlton, Maine. It honors the innovation, discipline, and determination that our broadcast engineering teams brought to the most complex broadcast in NASA’s history. We set out to tell the story of totality in a way the world had never seen. The creative led the way for a multi-site, IP-based broadcast of unprecedented scale. The creative fueled the decisions, the engineering, the risk-taking, and the countless hours it took to bring thi vision to life.I am so proud of this team, our engineers, and every unsung hero behind the camera and behind the cables. Thank you for pouring your heart, your brilliance, and your belief into this mission.” Below is a picture of how they literally wired everything together across NASA that got Walt Lindblom and Sami Aziz the Excellence in Production Technology Application Emmy.

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Keith’s note: NASA likes to talk about all the wonderful ways that they do things that affect everyone and improve their lives. But how they do this is inconsistent with regard to large portions of our country and large sectors of society. And it is often out of date and regularly misses the point when it comes to what real people are thinking about in terms of their life’s priorities. This popped up in Congress today while Jared Isaacman was testifying. More below.

Keith’s note: I was only at NASA a short time in 1987 and was put on the Voyager Neptune “interstellar mission” status report distribution list (L). How cool. Nearly 40 years later I posted (R) about the one-light-day mark that will be reached a year from now. We’re actually heading to the stars – truly Ad Astra. No other nation has actually gone interstellar – and no one else will do so any time soon. It may be just a space nerd bench mark – but one would think that if NASA was going to hop on the ‘Make America Great In Space (Again)’ / ‘Keep America Great In Space’ bandwagon, they’d be looking for things NASA has accomplished like this – those with profound implications. We may be in a ‘race’ (back) to the Moon but no one is going to beat the U.S. into the cosmos any time soon. Oh yea there are two block buster movies coming out soon that deal with interstellar travel. Easy things to hang some outreach on – maybe even a teachable moment. Just sayin’.

Keith’s note: NASA’s global branding reach is astonishing with immense soft power projection potential – if only NASA knew how to take full advantage. Have a look at this video of a landslide in Sri Lanka. Someone wearing a NASA logo t-shirt pops in and out of view. Yes, a landslide in Sri Lanka – on Twitter. Even when it is passive or unintentional, NASA’s branding constantly shows up. Oh yes: you don’t see the Chinese Space Agency CNSA’s logo on people’s t-shirts. So we’re winning the space race on that front. But isn’t global reach what it’s all about in the end? Just sayin’.

Keith’s note: 75% – 3/4 of the people on this planet have never seen humans walk on another world. We’re suddenly in a race to go back to the Moon and we are not clearly in the lead. The next time humans walk on the Moon will be the first time this happens as far as most of humanity is concerned. History is just history. Instead of grainy, flickering black and white imagery on a hulking television we’ll all see people bouncing on the Moon in 4K streaming on our cellphones. How does NASA adapt to this paradigm shift? So far, it is not doing that well. More below.

Keith’s note: The politicos at White House and NASA were complaining about DEI (Diversity, Equality, Inclusion) in space exploration the other day. They seem to have missed the fact that it was the Trump 1.0 team who aded “first woman” to the NASA Artemis tagline. Oh well. You may recall that I mentioned an outrageous example in March 2025 of DEI-infused censorship at NASA: You Can Still Read NASA’s Deleted “First Woman” Graphic Novels. Two illustrated novels with “First Woman” in their titles featured two young girls, who happened to be brown skinned, yearning to become astronauts and explore the universe. Imagine what they could have become in future volumes of these stories with some of the new AI tools everyone now has access to. More below – including some animated AI examples.

Keith’s note: The other day I tweeted that “In the @NASAKennedy town hall yesterday KSC Center Director and former Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro said that it was that DOGE and the Administration who told her to consider firing probationary employees ‘because that’s an easy way to cut down the work force’.” NASA PAO has told me that Janet Petro has “worked to ensure the continuity of the Pathways intern program” and I corrected that tweet. However I am told by iron clad sources that Janet Petro directed NASA Goddard to get rid of all interns, close the cafeteria and the health unit. DOGE was not the source of this direction. Like a lot of recent actions at NASA that involve DOGE, personnel downsizing, budget cuts, and mission cancellations, the real story is somewhere in between and subject to revision. I stand by my sources and yet I will always make corrections when NASA emphatically disputes my reporting.

Keith’s note: You may recall that NASA has pushed a huge portion of its science and engineering workforce out the door. Now NASA Johnson Center director Vanessa Wyche wants to hire people as Interns (students). Internships are great – but they usually embody a chance to eventually land a permanent job at NASA. Given all the firings, that is not likely. But if you look at the work descriptions it sounds like the things that departed employees used to do albeit more cheaply. Oh yes, there is a typo in her LinkedIn post that says “pursing” which is defined as ‘puckering one’s lips to express disapproval or irritation instead’ of “pursuing”. Just sayin’.

Keith’s note: According to a press release from AFGE, AFL-CIO Union: “The Union representing Federal employees at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility is calling on Congressional leaders, local government officials, economic stakeholders, and the public to take immediate action to stop the proposed closure of the NASA Wallops Visitor Center (WVC) – a decision that, if enacted, would inflict irreparable harm on the community, the regional economy, and NASA’s public mission. “This closure is not just a bureaucratic reshuffling. It’s a devastating blow, delivered with precision, to a community that has loyally supported NASA for generations,” said one Union member. “The Visitor Center is not a luxury; it’s a vital link between space exploration and the American public, particularly in rural regions like ours where opportunity and visibility are already scarce.” (Full release below)