Keith’s 28 May Update: I just did an interview with Al Jazeera about the SpaceX Starship 9 flight Audio. Keith’s 27 May note: I just did live coverage of the SpaceX Starship Flight 9 mission on Bloomberg Radio. After two last minute holds the rocket lifted off re-using a first stage that had already flown – 29 engines were being re-flown – and one of them was being flown for its third flight. After staging the first stage was brought back – but under heightened stress loads to test the vehicle. Just as the landing burn was going to happen telemetry stopped and SpaceX confirmed that “Heavy just demised” in SpaceX lingo. The Ship (second stage) made its way into space and tested some engines. The plan was to deploy 8 Starlink demonstrators but the payload door would not open properly so that task was aborted. Upon re-entry the vehicle lost control and spun and was eventually lost.

Keith’s note: I am hearing that here will be a OMB-issued FY 2026 budget coming out at 3:30 pm EDT on Friday followed by a NASA budget briefing around 5:30 PM EDT. Audio only. Invitation only. They are doing this on a Friday which has the added benefit of missing lots of news deadlines etc. Thus dampening the release of bad news – because you know that is what this is going to be.

Keith’s note: Looks like @NASA has a new Chief of Staff: Brian Hughes from Jacksonville, FL. LinkedIn profile – @BrianHughes47 and @BrianHughes

Keith’s note: On 25 May @ScienceMagazine tweeted a link to an article in Science Robotics magazine about a NASA Europa mission concept. So did @SciRobotics. The tweets referred to an article in the 21 May edition of Science Robotics: “Autonomous surface sampling for the Europa Lander mission concept“ written by 21 authors – all of whom work for NASA JPL, or related institutions. Cool stuff – yes? They have been testing it in Alaska. But the article is behind a paywall. I was able to find pieces of the article elsewhere – including a video – but without a subscription to Science Robotics I have to pay extra to read this article – an article written by NASA-funded people about a NASA-funded mission concept. I searched for “Europa lander” at NASA .gov and was sent to https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-lander/ which is a dead link and this page from 2017. NASA is supposed to be making these materials available to all taxpayers. But they don’t. Then the NASA folks moan and groan about missions being cut – and see that polls reflect public apathy toward NASA – when they simply do not have the initiative to highlight all of their cool stuff in the first place. NASA has easy access to immense social media, web, and TV audiences but PAO has no clue how to make the best use of this reach. Just sayin’. See: “Europa Astrobiology Lander Mission Concept: Autonomous Surface Sampling” at Astrobiology.com

Keith’s note: according to “What government programs should be slashed? NASA nears top of list, poll finds“ in the Miami Herald: “In the latest Marquette Law School Poll, 63% of respondents said they would be willing to reduce spending on NASA and its space program to shrink the federal budget deficit. Meanwhile, just 37% said they would not be willing to cut it. And just 5% said sending astronauts to Mars or back to the moon is a major priority, while 39% said this is important, but not a top concern. A majority, 56%, said it should not be a priority at all.” (deep sigh) NASA has touched the sun, visited every planet in our solar system, has spaceships traversing interstellar space, and has telescopes that look back toward the dawn of the universe – yet NASA Public Affairs and other communications and outreach efforts at the agency consistently fail to convey these awesome, exciting accomplishments to the public. Only NASA could make America’s unparalleled accomplishments in space exploration so boring that such a large portion of the public wants to cut space funding. Ad Astra y’all.

Keith’s note: SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative aka “StarWars”) is back – but it is now called “Golden Dome”. It is equally sad, annoying – and weirdly fascinating – to watch all of the older male space fans trying to relive the fantasies of the old SDI days of their youth – once again under-estimating the space-related infrastructure and continued, ever growing, funding that will be required to make it actually work. Meanwhile, their main guy eviscerates, guts, dismembers – pick your word – funding for America’s space agency and the other science-oriented agencies that ally with NASA to make America the leader in space science, exploration, and utilization. This is not going to end well. Every other nation will simply surge ahead of us in space while we are once again distracted and in disarray back on Earth.

Keith’s note: As the Administration seeks to gut funding of all government science agencies, they have issued another word salad executive order – one that could have been expressed in vastly simpler language. Indeed it calls for a process of conducting science in a transparent and reproducible fashion that has already been in place for nearly a century. Of course, this wordiness is a fig leaf for some specific political issues. e.g. “Actions taken by the prior Administration further politicized science, for example, by encouraging agencies to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion considerations into all aspects of science planning, execution, and communication.” And the response of this Administration is to simply politicize science even more.

Keith’s note: according to this CNBC post: “A federal judge further blocked the Trump administration from sharply cutting jobs and reorganizing the structure of many major federal agencies as part of its so-called DOGE effort under billionaire Elon Musk. The order issued late Thursday granted a preliminary injunction that pauses further reductions in force and “reorganization of the executive branch for the duration of the lawsuit.” According to this Democracy Forward press release : “The coalition of educators, school districts, and unions that challenged Secretary of Education McMahon’s massive reduction-in-force has won a preliminary injunction that will halt the administration’s unlawful effort to dismantle the Department of Education.”

Keith’s note: when I was working at NASA on the Space Station program back in the day one things we’d tell students and the general public was that the space station would be one of the brightest things in the night sky and that it will fly over their house. I have gone outside more times than I can remember just to see it fly over. Ask my neighbors. I always explain to them how to find the flyover times online. When I was in Nepal at Everest in 2009 I went to the Spot the Station website to get ISS flyover times and showed the flyover to a bunch of Sherpa guides who had no idea that this was a thing you could do or that a person who lived up there was in Nepal with me. Now, in a memo sent out on 14 May 2025, NASA is taking the ISS tracking website offline and relying only on cell phone apps. The memo sent out to Spot the Station website uses says “the ability to find sighting opportunities near you will also no longer be available on the website.” At a time when everyone struggles to explain the value and impact of space exploration, shutting off a website like this is counterproductive in the extreme. Apps are great – but why delete a trusted source that has been of global utility for decades – especially one with text messages that have great utility for people with limited Internet access? Full Memo below.

Keith’s note: according to this JPL memo “JPL to Transition to Fully Onsite Work“: “General telework employees will have until Monday, August 25, to fully return to their assigned work location, and remote telework employees – both in and outside of California – will have until Monday, October 27. Note that for those who can, we encourage returning to fully onsite work sooner than the required dates. Although rare exceptions are possible (see below), employees who do not return by their required date will be considered to have resigned.”

Keith’s note: according to Senate Executive Calendar 23 May 2025: “Ordered, That at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 2, 2025, notwithstanding Rule XXII, the cloture motions with respect to the following nominations ripen: Jared Isaacman, of Pennsylvania, to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (May 22, 2025.)” I am sure that Jared Isaacman will enjoy being ripe.

Keith’s note: I just got this from USRA/LPI: “Dear Colleagues, We have heard from many of you and understand that there is significant concern among the planetary science community regarding the removal of DEI content from USRA/LPI websites. Please know that we did not make that decision lightly. We were doing our best to comply with our understanding of the Administration’s directives (specifically, Executive Order 14173) and the deadline it set for compliance.”

Keith’s note: NASA’s Planetary Science Analysis/Assessment Groups have issued a document dated 6 May 2025, titled “AGness”. According to the authors (which has been annotated to enhance clarity, original document below), addressing members of the planetary science community: “The linked document below, The Keys of AGness, is a product of the collective Planetary Analysis and Assessment Groups (AGs), presented by their Chairs and vetted through their respective Steering/Executive Committees, and with community feedback. It captures what the community sees as the key pillars and important role of the AGs in the advancement of planetary science now and as we move into the future. The intended audience is multifold and includes NASA leadership, who are in the process of re-imagining the AG structure and support mechanism, and the broader planetary science community as a general reference and reminder of the forums, community building, support, repositories, and voice that the AGs provide.”

Keith’s note: According to “Slope Streaks on Mars – Not A Sign Of Water After All?” from Brown University: “A new study led by the University of Bern and Brown University in the U.S. casts doubt on one of the most tantalizing clues that water might be flowing on present-day Mars. Researchers analyzed a global database of 500,000 enigmatic streaks that occur on steep Martian slopes, concluding that they’re most likely caused by dry processes rather than liquid flow.” This could have important impacts on Mars exploration – by droids as well as humans. Remember that whole ‘water may be flowing on the surface of Mars’ thing back in 2000? (NASAWatch broke the story). People went totally crazy. Now there’s a suggestion that things are possibly different than we thought. Will NASA’s Astrobiology program mention it? Most likely not.

Keith’s note: the following open letter has been issued regarding budget cuts at NASA, signed by representatives of all of the agency’s advisory groups. “To members of the planetary science community: Given the considerable uncertainty about the future NASA Science budget, the Chairs of the Analysis/Assessment groups (AGs) linked to the Planetary Science Division (PSD) want to reiterate for our communities the incredibly positive impact of science at NASA and crucial role it plays in our society, including:

Keith’s 14 May note: The “skinny” FY 2026 White House budget proposal tells NASA to “reduce the space station’s crew size and onboard research”. In advance of an actual budget, NASA is already preparing to implement deep cuts. Soon. (16 May Update from NASA PAO below)

Keith’s note: All the space policy ‘experts’ claim that the Administration has a firm “plan” for NASA. If indeed it exists, then the chaos at NASA – programs gutted, people unsure if they have a job, research halted for no reason, paranoid behavior by management, must all be part of that plan, right? Chaos is not a plan. It just pisses people off, wastes money, and reduces productivity. This is not the way to keep America Great In Space. Just sayin’

Keith’s note: FYI this is from a NASA document about “METEOR” – the new time keeping system that will be implemented across all NASA centers: “Monitoring Exceptions and Tracking Employee Onsite Reporting (METEOR)” According to documentation, “METEOR tracks full-time in-person status for all civil servant employees, captures any exceptions to NASA’s Feb. 28, 2025, onsite reporting requirement, and ensures compliance with the agency’s Return to Full-Time In-Person Work (RIPW) plan.” By the way, what great acronym, NASA OCHCO – METEOR – something that slams into Earth’s atmosphere with no warning and crashes into things randomly. Embrace The Challenge y’all (pics below)

Keith’s note: Here we go again. With all the things being cut at NASA, you’d think that the NASA Astrobiology team would at least try and stand up and show their relevance. Guess again.

• The top story on NASA.gov Wednesday night is: “Another First: NASA Webb Identifies Frozen Water in Young Star System“ – Water Water Water – it is one of the key things that Astrobiology looks for and thinks about. But there is no mention of this “First” discovery at @nasaastrobio or astrobiology.nasa.gov – and the scientific paper is behind a paywall. Update: here’s the paper on astro-ph https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.08863 – NASA still points to the paywall version.
• On Wednesday morning NASA and ESA announced “Webb’s Titan Forecast: Partly Cloudy With Occasional Methane Showers“ – interesting JWST studies of the atmosphere of Titan – a prime target for Astrobiology exploration – especially the $3 billion+ Dragonfly mission. But astrobiology.nasa.gov or @nasaastrobio make no mention. The scientific paper cited in the press release is behind a paywall (again).
• Is Astrobiology As Boring As NASA Thinks It is? (earlier post) – Next to searching for the origin of the universe, searching for life elsewhere in the cosmos is one of the most profound things NASA does. If only NASA would act that way.

Keith’s 13 May update: someone at NASA fixed the calendar page at astrobiology.nasa.gov. Nothing else was changed. FWIW the NASA search engine still does not know where that website is. Keith’s 10 May note: We’re all concerned about things going offline, cancelled etc. While we only have the “skinny” budget from OMB, it is obvious that big cuts are coming to NASA space science. You’d think that NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) disciplines would be standing up to show their stuff – their value – as a hedge against possible cuts. Some are. Others are not. Indeed NASA seems utterly uninterested in telling you that it is spending billions of dollars on Astrobiology research and missions. Next to searching for the origin of the universe, searching for life elsewhere in the cosmos is one of the most profound things NASA does. If only NASA would act that way.