Joe Biden is the best choice for space progress, Opinion, Sean O’Keefe and John Grunsfeld, Florida Today “Biden knows that NASA has accomplished a great deal by evolving and adapting to rapid change. Through his public service, Biden has had an important influence to forge bipartisan support for NASA. Seeing the vast potential of the burgeoning commercial space industry, the Obama-Biden Administration helped NASA seize opportunities to extend our exploration […]

NASA’s next stop–Mars or the Moon? John Grunsfeld and Paul Spudis argue for and against Mars and the Moon, Ars Technica “Both men agree on one point: with NASA’s limited funds, even before possible cuts under a Trump administration, the space agency can’t do both. Sending astronauts to the Moon and establishing a colony would push human exploration of Mars into the second half of this century. Alternatively, making a […]

Why Mars? An Astronaut’s Perspective, op ed, John Grunsfeld, Huffington Post “Sending humans (and all that they will need to accompany them) to Mars will require substantial launch capabilities. This need for heavy launch capabilities goes back more than half a century, thus confirming concepts by Werner von Braun and others for Mars exploration. NASA is investing in the Space Launch System (SLS) to launch its large payloads for its […]

Do we really need humans to explore Mars?, Ars Technica “There’s been a myth that there’s some things you can do with robots and some only with people,” Grunsfeld replied. “All exploration is human research. Even when we use robotic spacecraft, it’s still human research. The question is how close are the people to the action? And it’s also about the pace of discovery. When you have people on the […]

John Grunsfeld Announces Retirement from NASA “John Grunsfeld will retire from NASA April 30, capping nearly four decades of science and exploration with the agency. His tenure includes serving as astronaut, chief scientist, and head of NASA’s Earth and space science activities. Grunsfeld has directed NASA’s Science Mission Directorate as associate administrator since 2012, managing more than 100 science missions — many of which have produced groundbreaking science, findings and […]

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NASA Planning Group Takes Key Steps for Future Mars Exploration “Starting today, the scientific and technical community across the globe can submit ideas and abstracts online as part of NASA’s effort to seek out the best and the brightest ideas from researchers and engineers in planetary science. Selected abstracts will be presented during a workshop in June hosted by the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston.” Concepts and Approaches for […]

An astronaut and a scientist (interview with John Grunsfeld), Nature “I would like NASA to articulate a plan to explore the Solar System with humans and associated science investigations, because I see them going hand in hand. We’re not going to send people anywhere, unless we’re out there doing science or enabling science as a part of an exploration framework. My desire is to work more closely with the human […]

Physicist and Former Astronaut John Grunsfeld to Head NASA Science Directorate “NASA has named physicist and former astronaut John Grunsfeld as the new associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. Grunsfeld will take the reins of the office effective Jan. 4, 2012. He succeeds Ed Weiler, who retired from NASA on Sept. 30.” Keith’s note: Keith’s note: Click here or on the image and […]

Astronaut tipped to lead NASA science division, Nature “John Grunsfeld, an astrophysicist and astronaut who fixed the Hubble Space Telescope, has been chosen to lead NASA’s science mission directorate, according to several sources with knowledge of the selection. Grunsfeld is currently deputy director of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, which operates Hubble. He would replace Ed Weiler, who resigned his post as NASA associate administrator in September.” […]