President-elect Donald Trump has nominated tech billionaire Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, 41, is the CEO and founder of a credit card-processing company and has a close collaboration with Elon Musk's SpaceX. He conducted the first private spacewalk and purchased a series of spaceflights from SpaceX.
If confirmed, Isaacman will replace former Democratic senator Bill Nelson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden. Isaacman expressed his gratitude for the nomination and his passion for America leading the way in space exploration.
Under Nelson's leadership, NASA made significant progress in its mission to return astronauts to the moon. The Artemis program, named after Apollo's twin sister, aims to send astronauts around the moon as early as next year, with plans for a moon landing to follow.
SpaceX plays a crucial role in NASA's missions, including ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station and future lunar surface missions via the Starship rocket. The agency is also focused on exploring the solar system, with ongoing missions to Jupiter's moon Europa and Mars.
Isaacman, known as 'Rook' in his fighter jet-piloting days, is a self-proclaimed 'space geek' who dropped out of high school at 16 to start a successful business. He holds speed records and has a strong philanthropic background, including supporting the Make-A-Wish program.
With two more SpaceX flights reserved, including leading Starship's first crew into Earth's orbit, Isaacman's nomination signals a new chapter for NASA under his potential leadership.
