While space policy has not been much of a topic for debate during this election cycle, the future of American space exploration may vary greatly depending on who’s sitting in the Oval Office come inauguration day.
Here’s a quick rundown detailing where President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden stand regarding space exploration and what the future of space policy may hold if they’re elected:
President Trump and space
President Trump’s past four years in office have been rather active with regards to space policy. Here’s what has happened so far under his administration:
- The National Space Council, a panel “representing the interests of the U.S. commercial space industry,” was reinstated after being disbanded in the early 1994.
- NASA launched the Artemis program, a mission designed to “land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.”
- The United States Space Force, the newest branch of the Armed Forces, was established in 2019 “to protect U.S. and allied interests in space.”
- President Trump signed an executive order that clarified American citizens’ (and companies’) rights to participate in space mining.
- The Trump administration saw an increase NASA funding and decrease in Earth science funding compared to the Obama administration, per Space.com.
Biden and space
Without any campaign speeches or debate clips to work with, it’s difficult to pinpoint former Vice President Biden’s specific course of action regarding space policy. However, through examining his tenure as vice president, and with the aid of the official Democratic Party platform, there’s room to make a few educated guesses.
- As Biden was vice president in an administration that directed NASA to hand off low orbit operations to private astronaut taxi services (like SpaceX and Boeing), experts predict a Biden administration would continue supporting commercial spaceflight endeavors, according to Quartz.
- Not unlike the Trump administration’s launch of the Artemis Program, the Democratic Party platform states, “we support NASA’s work to return Americans to the moon and go beyond to Mars, taking the next step in exploring our solar system.”
- The document continues, “Democrats additionally support strengthening NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Earth-observation missions to better understand how climate change is impacting our home planet.” Unlike President Trump, who has expressed skepticism about the existence of human-caused climate change and its possible dangers, a Biden administration would likely see an increase in space funding aimed at climate change research.