| The nominee to be NASA's administrator said proposed cuts of up to 50% in science would not be "optimal." In responses to questions for the record from members of the Senate Commerce Committee, posted online Thursday, Jared Isaacman said he was not involved in discussions about the White House's fiscal year 2026 budget proposal. That plan reportedly includes a cut of nearly 50% in NASA science, which Isaacman said "does not appear to be an optimal outcome." In particular, he expressed support for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which would be canceled in the proposal. Isaacman said that if budgets were limited, he would prioritize Artemis over human missions to Mars, reiterating his support for major elements of Artemis like SLS and Orion. He also downplayed his connection to Elon Musk, saying the two were not close and calling "1000% false" a report in March that stated Musk called Issacman after the election to offer him the NASA administrator job. [SpaceNews]
NASA is terminating a lease for an office in New York that works on climate research. The Goddard Space Flight Center said Thursday that its lease for offices for the Goddard Institute for Space Sciences (GISS) in a Columbia University building would be terminated at the end of May. GISS itself will remain open, working remotely as NASA works to find alternative office space. NASA did not disclose the reason for the lease termination other than it was linked to ongoing reviews by the current administration of all government leases. GISS has been in New York since its founding in 1961, and at its current building since the late 1960s under a lease that currently costs NASA $3 million a year. The institute, part of Goddard's Earth science division, is noted for its work on climate modeling. [SpaceNews]
Three Chinese astronauts arrived at the Tiangong space station Thursday. The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft docked with Tiangong at around 11:49 a.m. Eastern, six and a half hours after its launch. The spacecraft carried commander Chen Dong and crewmates Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, who will soon take over control of Tiangong in the coming days from the incumbent Shenzhou-19 crew. The six-month-long Shenzhou-20 mission will include extravehicular activities, science and application experiments, outreach activities and more. It will also receive the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft. [SpaceNews]
China has selected 10 international payloads that will fly on a robotic lunar lander mission later this decade. The China National Space Administration officially announced the selection Thursday of cooperation projects for the Chang'e-8 mission, scheduled to launch in 2028 or 2029, choosing 10 projects from 11 different countries, regions and one international organization. The payloads include multi-functional robots, rovers, instruments for astronomy and analyzing particles, imagers and a laser retroreflector. Chang'e-8 will target a landing on a plateau near Mons Mouton, also known as Leibnitz Beta, near the lunar south pole. [SpaceNews]
A new report warns institutional fragmentation and regulatory hurdles threaten U.S. leadership in space as it competes with China. The State of the Space Industrial Base 2024 report, released this week by the nonprofit NewSpace Nexus in collaboration with Defense Department organizations, concludes that a lack of national direction is eroding America's long-term position in space. It contrasted "institutional incoherence" with rapid advances by China in various space-related fields. Multiple U.S. departments are independently publishing space strategies, but without an overarching plan or a lead authority to ensure implementation, their efforts are often duplicative or misaligned, the study noted. The report calls for "integrated campaign planning" and the appointment of a lead agency or official to manage national efforts.
[SpaceNews]
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