WASHINGTON – A new report from the National Space Council argues that space exploration and development should be an integrated effort that involves not only NASA but other government agencies, as well as international and business partners.
The report, “A New Era for Deep Space Exploration and Development,” released July 23 by the White House, aims to describe how various government agencies will play a role in the implementation of national space policies, including a human return to the moon and eventual human missions to Mars.
“Although NASA is, and will continue to be, the primary entity of the United States Government for civilian space exploration efforts, other departments and agencies have increasingly important roles to play in space,” the report said.
The report builds on existing policies, in particular the Space Policy Directive (SPD) 1, which called for a sustainable return to the moon led by NASA with various partners, as well as a 2018 National Space Strategy, a space policy document broader calling for “Peace through force in the space domain.”
A senior administration official, speaking in the background, said the new report was intended to emphasize an integrated approach to space exploration and development. “Many people did not know how our focus in space was not just about NASA, not just about the Space Force,” the official said. “The objective of the report was to build on SPD-1 and also to paint a picture of the entire government of what we were doing.”
The report outlines three main areas of effort in that overall space exploration strategy: commercialize low-Earth orbit activities, return humans to the moon permanently, and then send humans to Mars. Those elements, the report says, also support science and education.
To carry out that strategy, the report identifies five main roles for government: promoting a “safe and predictable” space environment that involves addressing both space traffic management and regulatory reforms, supporting commercial activities in space, financing the Research and development of key space technologies, investing in private space infrastructure by being a “trusted customer” and supporting space-related science activities.
The report is not intended to establish a new policy or direction, but rather describes how existing policies will be implemented by NASA and other agencies. An appendix to the report lists the ongoing programs at various agencies that support space development, including NASA, as well as the Departments of Commerce, Defense and Transportation, among others. A second appendix does the same for the proposed programs.
“It is not a binding policy document, but it is something that indicates the rationale for exploring our priorities as we move forward,” said the senior administration official.
That can be useful in discussions with other countries about international partnerships, the official said. Representatives from those nations are looking for additional details beyond policy documents like SPD-1 on the administration’s plans, as they consider potential cooperation. “We hope it will be a useful communication tool for dialogue with other space agencies, expressing the strategic intention,” said the official.
The report was requested by Vice President Mike Pence, chairman of the National Space Council, at a public council meeting in August 2019. The report, which was originally due six months after that meeting, was developed by space council staff But the official said there was an inter-agency review to get feedback from NASA and other agencies. The council’s User Advisory Group also reviewed the report prior to publication.
Those reviews shaped the document, the official said. The User Advisory Group called for greater attention to the role of the academy in the strategy, which was later incorporated into the report. NASA’s comments led to further discussions about the commercialization of LEO.
While the report emphasizes business alliances in implementing the strategy, it is subtly critical of those seeking to move forward, the report believes, too quickly. “Some people argue that humanity is destined to develop space settlements and become a ‘multi-planet species,'” the report states, invoking a phrase often used by Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and defender of human settlement on Mars. Achieving that, according to the report, requires technical knowledge on how to use space resources, as well as economic foundations to sustain such settlements.
“Currently, we do not yet know if any of these conditions are possible,” the report concludes. “What we do know is that we will not be able to determine the responses without an effort for space exploration and development that goes beyond low Earth orbit.”
