Archive for the ‘Wait a Minute!’ Category
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January 21st, 2026
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
The value of two-way communication input and output between NASA and the planetary science community via specialized advisory groups (AGs) has been devalued.
That assessment comes from the space agency’s Science Mission Directorate, providing yet another wait-a-minute moment.
“Unfortunately, despite the recognized value of the AGs,” [NASA’s Planetary Science Division] “PSD can no longer formally support the AGs,” reports Louise M. Prockter, NASA Planetary Science Division Director.
Credit: Space HD Wallpapers
Groups impacted
NASA will be ending support for the AGs at the end of April of these years, impacting these groups:
Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group (ExMAG)
Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG)
Mapping and Planetary Spatial Infrastructure Team (MAPSIT)
Mars Exploration Analysis Group (MEPAG)
Mercury Exploration Assessment Group (MExAG)
Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG)
Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG)
Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VEXAG)
Recent changes
pointed out in a January 16 communiqué: “For many years, the eight PSD AGs have served as community-based, interdisciplinary bodies responsible for providing science input and analysis needed to plan and prioritize NASA planetary science research and exploration activities.”
“Several recent changes in the NASA landscape, however,” Prockter said, “make continuing the current support and operations model infeasible.”
“This decision does not automatically force the AGs to be dissolved—they have the opportunity to evolve and innovate as self-organized entities that continue to help advance planetary exploration,” Prockter added.
The full communiqué can be read at:
https://science.nasa.gov/planetary-science/resources/psd-director-letter-to-the-community/
Surprising decision
“This was a surprising decision. It seemed likely that support for the AGs would be reduced in some manner; however, I did not think support would be eliminated,” responded Benjamin Greenhagen, Chair of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG). “With all due respect for PSD, I don’t think this was the correct decision. And I don’t believe that this was the only possible decision.”
NASA’s Artemis Program, enabling Moon to Mars human exploration.
Image credit: NASA
Greenhagen said “it will be harder for us to provide agile analysis to NASA on critical topics but we will.”
Artemis de-generation?
“I think that community engagement, analysis, and consensus building is essential to NASA executing of our nation’s priorities of advancing lunar science, exploration, and critical technologies,” said Greenhagen in an open posting on the Lunar-L site.
“I take it to heart when NASA says we are all the Artemis Generation and we are going,” Greenhagen said. “When something is this important, you focus on what you will do to support and foster it rather than what you can’t do.”
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
Posted in 
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
The profound prospect of finding out that “we’re not alone” may also have weighty wait-a-minute consequences.
A recent poll indicates that half of Americans believe aliens have visited Earth.
The poll was produced by YouGov US, an international online research data and analytics technology group.
This polling finds that most Americans believe aliens exist, and many think that aliens have paid a visit to Earth in recent years.
Full and deliberate disclosure?
Arguably, one poll result rubs up against “full disclosure” advocates, those seeking an immediate revelation about alien visitation in the past, up to today.
“Americans are more likely to believe alien encounters would have a negative effect on human civilization than to think it would have a positive effect,” YouGov explains.
Also, many believe that aliens would bring “new diseases and unintentional harm or outright hostility to people if we were to encounter them.”
Credit: Orbitz
Indeed, the poll explains that twice as many Americans say an alien visit would have a negative effect on human civilization than a positive one.
Other takeaway messages
According to YouGov data journalist, Jamie Ballard, other takeaway messages from the polling are:
- Americans are split on whether aliens have visited Earth in recent years.
- 16% of Americans believe we will make contact with alien life by 2035.
- Majorities of Americans think if we encountered aliens, it’s likely they would be more technologically advanced than humans and want to stay hidden.
The poll results stem from an online survey conducted on November 4 – 9, 2025 among 1,114 U.S. adult citizens.
To dive into the array of poll findings, go to:
https://today.yougov.com/health/articles/53486-half-of-americans-believe-aliens-have-visited-earth
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
Image credit: UN
In a “breakthrough” (my term) document, the United Nations environment program has grown some space legs.
A new report from them is titled “Safeguarding Space Environmental issues, risks and responsibilities.”
That group took the high road and dubbed them “Emerging Issues.”
World embrace
The report explains that the space sector is growing exponentially, with over 12,000 spacecraft deployed in the past decade and many more planned as the world embraces the benefits provided by satellite services.
“This growth presents significant environmental challenges at all layers of the atmosphere,” the report notes.
Image credit: Chelsea Thompson/NOAA
Challenges
Those ticked-off challenges include
- air pollution from launch emissions
- spacecraft emissions in the stratosphere
- spacecraft demise
- orbital debris (legacy and new)
- increased risk of collision creating more debris
- the potential to alter atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, climate change and deplete stratospheric ozone
Marine ecosystems
Moreover, they add that “objects that do not disintegrate on re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere pose threats to ground safety and marine ecosystems.”
A forthcoming intrusion into the marine ecosystem is the dumping of the International Space Station, just a few years away says NASA.
SpaceX-provided deorbiting of the International Space Station under NASA contract.
Image credit: SpaceX
Lastly, the document notes that the increase in space objects in orbit is also affecting the darkness and quietness of the sky and Earth-based astronomical observations.
“Emerging” – but years-in-the-making?
What took me back a bit is the “emerging issues” subtheme by the United Nations report.
It is a “wait a minute” moment as the UN realizes that these problems are emerging – more in the global community’s face and for many years in the making.
Captured by astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station (ISS), this long-exposure photograph showcases Earth’s city lights, the upper atmosphere’s airglow, and streaked stars. The bright flashes at the center are reflections of sunlight from SpaceX’s Starlink satellites in low-Earth orbit.
Image credit: NASA
To their credit, they conclude that a multilateral, interdisciplinary approach is needed “to better understand the risks and impacts and how to balance them with the essential daily services and benefits that space activity brings to humanity.”
That said, too little attention…too late?
For the full report – “Safeguarding Space Environmental issues, risks and responsibilities” — go to:
https://wedocs.unep.org/rest/api/core/bitstreams/c45c0309-971e-4ea8-aad3-cd2b053d394e/content
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
Shenzhou-20 crew is seen in this pre-launch image.
(Image credit: China Manned Space Agency)
Due to a suspected impact from space debris, China’s Shenzhou-20 three-person crew are delayed in their return to Earth.
It has been a week since the re-entry wave-off on November 5th was called.
Meanwhile, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) stated on Tuesday that all preparatory work for ensuring the safe return of the Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship has been progressing orderly.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Implementing the plan
Related contingency plans and measures have since been put in place to comprehensively conduct simulation analysis, tests and safety analysis for the Shenzhou-20 spaceship and study the plan for implementing the crew’s return to Earth, said the CMSEO.
All systems are conducting various tests and coordinated adjustments and tests in strict accordance with the procedures as well as assessing the status of key products and checking their quality, while the landing site is organizing comprehensive rehearsals for the return mission, CMSEO added.
The Shenzhou-20 crew has been conducting scientific experiments and tests together with the newly-arrived Shenzhou-21 crew.
Astronauts on the Shenzhou-21 manned spaceship were greeted by the Shenzhou-20 crew, who they will be replacing, after successfully docking with China’s Tiangong space station in orbit on November 1 to begin the handover of duties.
Image credit: CMSA/CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Safety first
Following the decision to rearrange the crew’s return, mission planners and engineers promptly started following emergency response measures based on the principle of “putting the safety of astronauts first”, the China Manned Space Agency said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
What is not known is where the space debris struck the Shenzhou-20 return craft.
There is the possibility that an uncrewed Shenzhou-22 may be flown to China’s space station.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
A just-issued China Central Television (CCTV) video seemingly shows ground crews working at the launch site under nighttime conditions, perhaps indicating the booster and spacecraft are being readied – although this is speculation.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Go to video at: https://www.facebook.com/reel/674928955688540
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
Yet another wait-a-minute moment for NASA’s return to the Moon with humans program.
As it has repeatedly warned, panel members of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) – a group that reports to NASA and the U.S. Congress – have once again red-flagged the SpaceX Starship’s development tied to the space agency’s needs to return human boots to the Moon
A September 19th ASAP gathering underscored Starship’s longer than planned evolution to support the Artemis 3 mission to land a crew at the lunar south pole.
Image credit: ASAP
NASA officials are reportedly considering pushing off Artemis 3 to 2028 while other appraisals don’t see a Starship-aided Moon landing before 2032.
If so, the window of opportunity for China’s human exploration of the Moon by 2030 looms large.
Technical readiness level
The ASAP annual report for 2024 provides the backdrop of concern.
“Artemis III is planned as a crewed surface landing and exploration of the lunar south pole region. The Panel remains very concerned that, on the current schedule and with the current technical readiness level of some segments of the architecture, the Artemis III mission is oversubscribed.”
Image credit: ASAP
As the ASAP previously detailed in its 2023 Annual Report, “the aggregated risk associated with accomplishing so many ‘first-time’ milestones, including several critical prerequisite demonstrations, may be too high.”
Bottom line: Starship HLS remains a critical path item for the successful execution of Artemis III.
For details on the recent ASAP meeting, go to Marcia Smith’s detailed reporting on her Spacepolicyonline.com website at:
https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-safety-panel-estimates-significant-delays-for-starship-hls/
Hearing – anybody listening?
Angst regarding the status of Artemis 3 also penetrated U.S. Senator Ted Cruz’s Senate hearing back on September 3.
Image credit: Inside Outer Space screengrab
That hearing was titled: “There’s a Bad Moon on the Rise: Why Congress and NASA Must Thwart China in the Space Race.”
Among the witnesses testifying, former NASA chief, James Bridenstine stated in written testimony that the United States does not have a lunar lander.
“Unless something changes, it is highly unlikely the United States will beat China’s projected timeline to the Moon’s surface. Our complicated architecture requires a dozen or more launches in a short time frame, relies on very challenging technologies that have yet to be developed like cryogenic in-space refueling, and still needs to be human rated,” Bridenstine said.
Starship 10 departure.
Image credit: SpaceX/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“While the capability could be transformational over time if payload capacity increases (so far it has decreased), the complexity of the architecture precludes alacrity,” the former NASA chief added.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship team is making progress on the next flight test of the Super Heavy/Starship at the firm’s Starbase facility in Texas.
No target launch date has been announced as yet for Starship Flight 11.
Fly…learn…repeat…fingers-crossed…fly…learn…repeat…
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
There is continued concern regarding disclosure of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).
So much so that next week the U.S. Congress will hold a hearing titled: “Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection.”
To be explored on September 9 is reported information that’s being held by federal agencies on UAP and how best to examine transparency issues surrounding the Department of Defense (DoD) and the intelligence community.
Image credit: SCU
Also to be evaluated is the work and effectiveness of DoD’s congressionally mandated All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
It’s yet another wait-a-minute moment in probing UAPs.
Witness list
Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna will lead as Chairwoman of the House Declassification Task Force – a subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Witnesses are to be:
UAP have been reported by military pilots unlike anything they have ever witnessed.
Image credit: Enigma Labs/Lt. Cmdr. Alex Dietrich
Jeffrey Nuccetelli, U.S. Air Force Veteran
Chief Alexandro Wiggins, UAP Witness
Dylan Borland, UAP Witness, U.S. Air Force Veteran
George Knapp, UAP Journalist
Maximum transparency
Image credit: SOL/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“The American people deserve maximum transparency from the federal government on sightings, acquisitions, and examinations of UAPs and whether they pose a potential threat to Americans’ safety,” Congresswoman Luna said in a statement.
“Whistleblowers who provide details on spending information and policies and procedures regarding the classification and declassification of UAPs should be able to do so without retribution,” Luna added. “I look forward to hearing from witnesses on how the federal government can improve transparency and provide better answers on UAPs.”
To witness for yourself the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets hearing that starts at 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time — “Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection” – go to this website at:
Wait-a- minute, Congress at work.
Image credit: Barbara David
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
Lagrange points are special locations in space where the gravitational forces from a pair of large celestial bodies interact in out of the ordinary ways.
Lagrange points are named in honor of Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange.
They offer unique advantages for human-made space objects to loiter indefinitely with minimal expenditure of propulsive energy. These locales are increasingly populated by spacecraft of many nations.
Enter a legal question in wait-a-minute style: should those locations be treated as “the common heritage of mankind?”
Image credit: NASA
Professor David Koplow of the Georgetown University Law Center makes the case in an article just published by the Michigan Journal of International Law. The paper is titled “Pave Outer Space and Put Up A Parking Lot: Lagrange Points Should Be the Common Heritage of Mankind.”
L-point use
But first a few “pointers” about L-points.
For example, the L1 point of the Earth-Sun system affords a continuous view of the Sun and is home to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite – a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Then there’s the outward looking James Webb Space Telescope nicely parked in Sun-Earth L2, roughly 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth.
Image credit: NASA, STScI, CSA
Also the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) is stationed at the Sun–Earth L1 Lagrange Point
Lastly, in the Earth-Moon system, five Lagrange points are numbered from L1 to L5. The L5 point was popularized by the late Gerard O’Neill and the L5 Society, seen as perfect for establishing a space colony.
Suitable rules
“Lagrange points are scarce and potentially very useful for commercial, civil, and military applications,” Koplow tells Inside Outer Space. “This is a rare opportunity for the international community to develop suitable rules in advance of the rush for the scarce ‘parking places’ in space.”
Lagrange points constitute a limited resource that is just beginning to be occupied, Koplow points out in the paper. “Existing international law is inadequate for optimal governance of their future occupation and use,” he states.
Koplow points out that not all sectors of space are equally valuable for all applications. The most desirable venues can become crowded, “affording a premium for those who gain access first and impeding the development of a fair and efficient all-inclusive international legal regime.”
Image credit: NASA Ames Research Center/Rick Guidice
First come, first served?
In Koplow’s view, space is a venue for multiple forms of competition, and some of that may spread to the Lagrange points. The question, to be resolved sooner or later, he adds, is what will be the rules for allocating access and use – first come, first served, or some more equitable system for sharing the benefits?
“The concept of the ‘common heritage of mankind’ refers to a system that allocates control over a scarce resource to the entire world, instead of to the countries and companies that happen to get there first,” Koplow told Inside Outer Space. “The concept has been applied – always with great controversy – in other shared spaces, and I argue that it should be extended to the Lagrange points,” he concludes.
The Michigan Journal of International Law (MJIL) article — “Pave Outer Space and Put Up a Parking Lot: Lagrange Points Should Be the Common Heritage of Mankind” — is available (for free) on-line at:
https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjil/
MJIL is a student-run law journal published by the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
Call it an SOSS message – a Save Our Solar System planetary science community communiqué.
It is unquestionably a “wait-a-minute” concern running through the space science research groups.
Given the considerable uncertainty about the future NASA Science budget given projected Trump Administration funding considerations, the chairs of analysis/assessment groups (AGs), linked to the space agency’s Planetary Science Division, issued a statement today.
The statement has been stirred up by the President’s top-level recommendations on discretionary funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2026, or so-called “skinny budget.”
Image credit: White House
Budget specificity
The term skinny budget means that the document contains brief descriptions of programs and recommended financial reductions or increases.
Still to come is the “Full Monty” of budget specificity that’s expected shortly.
That skinny budget was released on May 2 and noted major cuts to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate budget, such as cancelling the top Decadal priority flagship mission, Mars Sample Return.
NASA’s Perseverance rover has been busy at work collecting Mars samples at Jezero Crater. A projected Mars Sample Return program would bring those specimens to Earth for state-of-the-art analysis.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
“The extent of the proposed cuts to, or cancellation of, missions and programs, including research and analysis, will not be known until the full budget is released,” the statement observes. “That budget will make its way through Congress, where changes of unknown magnitude are likely to be made and we won’t know the final FY26 budget for some time to come.”
Image credit: NASA/Jenny Mottar
Impacts of NASA science
As reiterated in the statement, the positive impact of science at NASA and crucial role it plays in broad societal terms include:
- Exploration and research in planetary science enables us to better understand the history of the Solar System, as well as our planet and origins;
- Deep space exploration is a tremendous source of innovation in science and technology having applications well beyond space science research, including in the commercial sector, where over 60 years of investment and development have placed the US at the forefront of research and technological advancements in general;
- Planetary and space science research has served as an inspiration for generations of present and future scientists and engineers. NASA’s science and exploration contribute to our national posture, where US leadership in planetary science is a source of geopolitical soft power;
- NASA’s spaceflight missions and associated scientific research are thoughtfully developed and carefully prioritized, being guided by reports from the independent National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine; these reports are written by top scientists and engineers and represent the consensus view of their respective communities as to the activities that will be of greatest value to science and the American taxpayer over decadal timespans;
- Science at NASA engages some of the brightest minds of the nation to develop solutions to problems of human survival and growth based on fact-based inquiry and analysis – although life and civilization are robust, the geologic record shows the Earth’s and the Solar System’s history of catastrophe and global change, from extinction-level impacts to solar storms to ice ages and hot-houses and science enables us to understand these better; and
- At the broadest level, science everywhere represents fundamental human curiosity, helping us to understand the world around us and develop innovative solutions to problems, enabling us to become more productive, and make informed decisions about societal concerns.
Eating the seed corn
In closing, the statement signed by AG officials reminds the reader of an observation of noted space scientist, Carl Sagan:
Astronomer Carl Sagan poses with a model of a NASA Viking lander in Death Valley, California.
Image credit: NASA
“Cutting off fundamental, curiosity-driven science is like eating the seed corn,” Sagan advised. “We may have a little more to eat next winter but what will we plant so we and our children will have enough to get through the winters to come?”
The letter explains that by abandoning our most ambitious efforts, such as Mars Sample Return, which already have substantial investment, “will cede this position of leadership to other nations, such as China.”
Lastly, the communiqué concludes that science at NASA deserves “full-throated support from our community and the public.”
For their part, the AG chairs are working diligently to represent the PSD community in this time of change, “but we encourage you to make your voice heard, and the more voices, the more powerful the impact will be.”
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
A U.S. Senate committee is set to vote tomorrow on Jared Isaacman, the Trump Administration’s selectee for NASA administrator.
That’s one small step for Isaacman in true wait-a-minute style deliberation.
On Wednesday, April 30, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a full committee Executive Session to vote on whether to advance Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA.
Entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, President Trump’s nominee to be NASA administrator, appears April 9 before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and testifies that NASA is a “force multiplier for science.”
NASA / Bill Ingalls
Isaacman appeared before the committee on April 9. In written answers to questions, Isaacman revealed more of his views regarding his handling of NASA issues.
Isaacman did call the projected Trump administration’s planned cuts to NASA not “an optimal outcome.”
REPUBLICAN QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD – Go to:
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/services/files/5C22B600-2AAB-4ACF-AE89-FA78A04E602D
DEMOCRATIC QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD – Go to:
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/services/files/13EEBAAD-3523-45C8-BB97-EB1031A01741
Image credit: NASA
What now?
As for taking over NASA, there’s still some question as to when Isaacman does get confirmed – and what space agency decision-making is still to come.
“Tomorrow is just a committee vote. It could be days, weeks or months before the full Senate votes. We’ll see what the issues are then,” said Marcia Smith, founder and editor of the informative SpacePolicyOnline.com at: https://spacepolicyonline.com/
If days, Smith added, the top job will be seeing if it’s too late for Isaacman to have any influence on the budget request. “Once Trump sends it to Congress he’ll have to support whatever it says.”
To watch the livestream on Wednesday, April 30, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, go to:
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/
Meanwhile, take a look at this just-issued NASA release, “NASA Soars to New Heights in First 100 Days of Trump Administration.” Go to:
Wait-a- minute, Congress at work.
Image credit: Barbara David
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
It’s a wait-a-minute moment as featured in a new issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
“Mars Attacks: How Elon Musk’s plans to colonize Mars threaten Earth” is the work of Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith, adapted from their book A City on Mars
Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through? (Penguin Press).
This fully-illustrated comic explores the implications of space colonization.
“If the world’s most powerful nation, helped along by history’s most powerful rocket company, were to scrap international space law, it would have consequences that may echo for centuries,” writes Kelly Weinersmith, adjunct faculty member at Rice University, and Zach Weinersmith, creator of the popular webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.
Artwork credit: Zach Weinersmith
Signing of Outer Space Treaty.
Image credit: United Nations
Outer Space Treaty
“Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is intent on creating a one-million-person colony on Mars. As the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk also seems content to break anything that stands in his way—including potentially a Cold War era treaty that has kept humanity safe for over 50 years, the Outer Space Treaty (OST),” they write. “Musk’s rejection of international governance could have lasting implications for life on earth, and could augur a new era of geopolitical conflict.”
To read the full story, go to:
“Wait-a-minute”
Image credit: Barbara David
