Keith’s lament: Apollo missions to the Moon were seen as great feats of exploration by the media. As we try to do that again NASA has clearly lost control of the narrative to tabloid-level stupidity. Since this whole ‘Back to the Moon, Mars, Beyond’ etc. thing was announced 21 years ago we constantly lose our way and get distracted and drag things out faster than we accomplish those things. And now we are going to beat China to the Moon? That’s not gonna happen unless we change the way the government/space industry hive mind does things. Moreover, it will not happen unless NASA gets the population and media on board while all this other crap is going on. Just sayin’

Keith’s note: Well done Sean Duffy for getting NASA and the President’s Artemis lunar missions back in the headlines. The top “NASA” stories on Google involve two Reality TV stars talking about Moon hoaxes. You’re in a league with the Kardashians now. What will you talk about in next week’s show?

Keith’s note: In a nutshell, acting/interim/(maybe)actual NASA Administrator Sean Duffy says that SpaceX is behind “schedule” on its Artemis stuff. OK this may well be true. Yet Duffy can’t say when Artemis II, III, etc. will launch i.e. according to a “schedule” with dates etc. or if there’s an actual firm budget to stay on “schedule” or if his new ideas to try other approaches have a “schedule” or if a landing will have a NLT 19 Jan 2029 in its “schedule’. “Notional” won’t get us to the Moon, beat China etc. Just sayin’.

Keith’s note: according to an email from Heather Hall at NASA MSFC “NASA CFO has approved HLS as an excepted activity. … Given the contingency plan to protect Artemis II, Artemis III and the supply chain for Artemis IV+, HLS interprets the excepted employees to include:” (full email below)

Keith’s note: I recently participated in a web chat about NASA’s plans to put nuclear power systems on the Moon as part of the Artemis program with my friends Miles O’Brien and space nuclear expert Bhavya Lal. All of us are Star Trek fans BTW (and we’re not shy about that). Here’s the video.

Keith’s note: FYI Sean Duffy: NASA pushes out narratives (issued from the White House) about winning the “second space race” to the Moon. OK, that seems like a straight forward story to tell. Having historians and storytellers explain this adventure would be smart. But you really can’t do that when your boss dumps on one of the greatest lunar popular storytellers i.e. Tom Hanks. Read the room. Just sayin’

Keith’s note: If the Administration really wants to win a new Space Race then these are the competitors – they were in Beijing today. They have a plan and stick to it. America – not so much. Indeed, we cut ourselves off at the knees and then complain about it.

Keith’s note: Here is prepared testimony/statements for today’s Senate Commerce hearing on “bad moons”, China, etc. It was a long hearing and most of the senators ducked out early for lunch. Ted Cruz, Maria Cantwell, Allen Cutler, Michael Gold, Jim Bridenstine, John Shaw

Keith’s note: According to “According to “There’s a Bad Moon on the Rise: Why Congress and NASA Must Thwart China in the Space Race“: there is a hearing on 3 September at 10:00 10:30 am EDT that “is an important opportunity to chart a course that reinforces American leadership in space, strengthens NASA, fuels our growing commercial space sector, and protects our economic and national security interests in the final frontier.” OK fine. Let’s beat China in space. Why not. It should be simple: get your A-Team in place and give them the resources to compete. But wait: is gutting NASA’s scientific and engineering expertise, slashing its budgets, and continually chopping, delaying, and reconfiguring NASA’s Artemis progam the way to do this? No. Let’s see if Ted Cruz and his witnesses can find a solution. Or (more likely) watch them just point out the problems while skating around – and over – the essential and obvious things that need to be put in place. Live webcast: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/home

Keith’s note: Yesterday Acting NASA Administrator Duffy made a significant announcement about NASA – the use of nuclear power and lunar land claims – but he did not make these accouncements at NASA – but at the Department of Transportation. At one point he said: “There’s a certain part of the Moon that everyone knows is the best. We have ice there – we have sunlight there. We want to get there first and claim that for America.” (video below). No one from NASA seems to have clarified the statement by Duffy that NASA or America intends to “claim” part of the Moon. So it must be part of the plan, right?. But wait: here’s no mention of this announcement at NASA.gov or on @NASA or of this 31 July 2025 Directive 31 Jul 2025 NASA memo from Sean Duffy titled “Directive on Fission Surface Power (FSP) Development” memo. Why is NASA being so shy about all of this? (video and memo below)