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: The Department of Defense War is now cracking down on journalists who wish to commit acts of actual journalism at DOD DOW. Since NASA’s role has now been formally redefined by Executive Order 14343 as having “a primary function intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work” what can we expect in terms of how NASA PAO (Public Affairs Office) interacts with media? This may be a stretch – and it would certainly be a departure for NASA’s long-standing practice – but here is a possible preview: According to “Pentagon demands journalists pledge to not obtain unauthorized material” in the Washington Post: “The Trump administration unveiled a new crackdown Friday on journalists at the Pentagon, saying it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey. Under the policy, the Pentagon may revoke press passes for anyone it deems a security threat. Possessing confidential or unauthorized information, under the new rules, would be grounds for a journalist’s press pass to be revoked.” Just sayin’.

Keith’s note: I woke up to a TV booking on Trump/Musk food fight which was later cancelled but I am doing Deutsche Welle tonight – about this, then on another network on Monday morning and another on Tuesday morning. Plus two other inquiries. Will one of you space folks PLEASE discover an asteroid that is going to hit the Earth to change the topic of what I am supposed to talk about. Thanks.

NASA Hosting Human Space Exploration Workshop “NASA will host a three-day Human Space Exploration Community Workshop in San Diego starting on Monday, Nov. 14. The agency will introduce the International Space Exploration Coordination Group’s Global Exploration Roadmap during the event. … Due to space limitations, reporters are invited to watch the workshop via webcast and submit questions via email. For details, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/about/isecg/ger-workshop.html“ Keith’s note: This meeting is being held […]

Q&A with Charles F. Bolden NASA Administrator, The Post and Courier “Q: The recent elections showed voters’ concern about the level of government spending and debt. How will that affect NASA’s work? A: “That’s hard to say. I’ll be able to answer that question for you better in the middle of February, when we get our budget. It would be premature for me to try to guess. It may be […]

Bolden Treads Softly On China, Other Issues, Aviation Week “In a rare one-on-one interview with a U.S. reporter Nov. 23, Bolden tiptoed around a range of sensitive issues as he looks for bipartisan support in the 112th Congress for the new U.S. space program that is still evolving at NASA.” Yet Another Stealth Bolden Appearance, earlier post “In a brief question-and-answer session with reporters Nov. 12 following a ribbon-cutting ceremony […]