NASA has a spiffy new class of astronauts, but where will they go?

The lights dimmed. The music swelled. And then, one by one, NASA’s 2017 class of astronauts walked triumphantly onto the stage Wednesday at Johnson Space Center. Wearing the agency’s iconic blue flight suits, they beamed and waved, enjoying a singular moment in their lives. Aged from 28 to 42 years, they had already accomplished much. Now they were ready for more: to serve their country, fly into undiscovered country, and meet unknown dangers.

NASA chose its 12 new astronaut candidates from an astonishingly deep pool of more than 18,300 applicants, and the final class of seven men and five women boasted an impressive array of backgrounds, from working as fighter pilots and engineers to marine biologists and physicians. After about two years of training, they will become full-fledged astronauts ready for flight assignments.

Wednesday’s well-produced event showcased NASA as still the place for the best and brightest of America, a repository of the country’s highest aspirations. Unfortunately, behind the bright lights, the reality is more of a grind. Two platitude-laden speeches given Wednesday to celebrate the new astronaut corps highlighted that aspect.

Most notably, it seems as though NASA’s human spaceflight destinations have changed yet again. For the better part of this decade, NASA has flooded its social media channels with talk about the “Journey to Mars,” how the agency was charting a bold course to reach Mars in the 2030s. During his remarks Wednesday, however, Robert Lightfoot, the acting NASA administrator, did not even say the word “Mars” once.

In his most direct remarks on where the new crew might go and what it might do in deep space, Lightfoot offered only bland generalities. “One of these folks behind us could be one that takes that next iconic giant leap and says the words, similar to what Neil Armstrong said when he stepped onto the Moon,” he said. “That’s what the future is for these folks. And it’s very, very exciting when you think about it.”

It is difficult to envision a bright future for an agency whose leader, standing before the impressive class of astronaut candidates he just hired, cannot say where they will go. Kennedy put NASA on a course to the Moon. NASA now seems on a course for... somewhere.

Maybe Moon. Maybe Mars.

In a bit of a surprise, Vice President Mike Pence flew to Houston and visited Johnson Space Center Wednesday to also congratulate the new astronaut candidates. Pence’s visit was significant because when the Trump administration finally gets around to nominating a NASA administrator and naming a National Space Council, the vice president will lead that advisory council. His will become the country’s most influential voice on space policy.

Although it's commendable that the vice president spent a day traveling to Houston learning about the space program and clearly demonstrating an interest, he did not add much clarity to where these new astronauts would be exploring. Pence said NASA would “have the resources and supports you need to continue to make history,” but he did not specify what those history-making endeavors would entail.

“In the years to come, you will depart from this blue marble and take your place among the roll of America’s legends,” Pence said. “Now their legacy falls to you, and you’ll follow in their contrails and chart a path into the unknown. As American astronauts, you may yet return our nation to the Moon. You may be the first to travel to Mars. You may have experiences that we can only imagine.”

An opportunity

It is true that President Trump did not make this mess of space policy that NASA finds itself in. Both the Obama administration and a Republican Congress have been complicit in allowing NASA to depict a grand “Journey to Mars” that has been both illusory and ill-funded. However, from his role on the space council, Pence does have an opportunity to fix some of these problems.

On Wednesday, he offered an inkling that his work may take NASA into new territory, that he may seize upon the revolution that has been unfolding in commercial space in recent years, from reduced launch costs and reusable rockets to substantial private investments from entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and others. “By tapping the bottomless well of innovation through increased collaboration with commercial space industries, we can seize opportunities that will benefit our nation and our people for generations to come,” Pence said.

The reality of NASA’s present situation is that it can’t afford to go to the Moon or Mars because it continues to largely function as an agency in a decades-old mindset of big programs, big overhead, and limited human spaceflight accomplishments. It’s not clear whether the Trump administration will change that, but if it doesn’t, the dozen new, young astronauts will never take the “next iconic great leap.”

For now, the newest wearers of blue suits at Johnson Space Center seemed content enough with their lot. They recognize the future is uncertain, but they stand ready to answer the call into deep space if it comes. “I think for the future, maybe, it’s a little unclear,” Jonny Kim, a physician and astronaut candidate responded to a question from Ars. “We’re just happy to be here.” That may change if NASA does not.

Listing image by Eric Berger