Artemis

TrumpSpace Series Finale

By Keith Cowing

NASA Watch

December 8, 2020

Filed under Trump Space

Vice President Mike Pence is set to name a cadre of Artemis astronauts, Ars Technica
“Vice President Mike Pence will announce a cadre of 18 astronauts from whom NASA is likely to choose the commanders, pilots, and mission specialists who will go to the Moon as part of the Artemis Program. Multiple sources said Pence would release a list of names on Wednesday at the National Space Council meeting in Florida as part of an update on NASA’s Artemis Moon program. These will not be formal crew assignments for upcoming missions but rather a cadre from which astronauts will be selected for upcoming flights. Some of the astronauts will be in attendance.”
Vice President Mike Pence to Convene Eighth Meeting of the National Space Council
“The Eighth Meeting of the National Space Council will take place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 9th, 2020 at 12:30 PM EST. The meeting will be chaired by Vice President Mike Pence. The meeting will be livestreamed here on NASA TV, and additional details will be forthcoming. Following NASA’s COVID-19 response protocols, the use of face coverings will be required for invited guests, and hand sanitizer stations will be available. Attendance will be limited to promote social distancing, and temperature screenings will be required prior to entry.”
Keith’s note: The other day I asked about Artemis Astronauts, training, etc. (see NASA Releases Science Plan For First Artemis Human Landing Mission). I asked when crews would be selected, when training would begin, etc. In response I got a non-answer. OK, so the Vice President was going to make a big a announcement. I get the non-answer, don’t steal his thunder thing. But, in their defense, everyone on the NASA side of the media briefing was either not in the loop as to what was going to be announced by Pence or ordered to not spill the beans. The smart thing would have been to hold this science plan briefing after the Vice President’s announcement – not several days before it so as to not put the NASA folks in this situation. Doing so might have also served to bolster the notion that NASA has been thinking the whole 2024 deadline through seriously. But NASA PAO is not known for thinking things through like that.
After the “Make Space Great Again” series finale thing at KSC is over I will submit some questions to NASA PAO. It is unlikely that they will actually answer them – and if they do, the answers will be designed to occupy characters in an email – not to provide substance. Just Remember: NASA says (with a straight face) that it is going to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024 – their deadline to do so is exactly 4 years from today.