Credit: NASA

The next president of the United States could be the first in office to accept a phone call from the Moon and hear a woman’s voice on the line. To do this, they will first have to make a series of strategic space policy decisions. They will also need a little luck.

A huge government investment supports space activities, so the U.S. president plays an outsized role in shaping space policy during his term in office.

Past presidents have harnessed this power to accelerate U.S. leadership in space and thereby strengthen their presidential brand. Presidential advocacy helped land the United States astronauts on the surface of the Moonestablish lasting international partnerships with civilian space agencies abroad and led to many other important space milestones.

But most presidential candidates refrain from discussing space policy on the campaign trail in any depth, leaving voters unclear on their vision for the final frontier.

For many candidates, getting into the details of their space policy plans may be more trouble than it’s worth. On the one hand, not all presidents even have the opportunity to make meaningful and memorable space policy decisions, since space missions can take place on timelines of decades. And in previous elections, those who showed support for space initiatives often confronted criticism of their opponents For their high prices.

But the 2024 elections are different. Both candidates have backgrounds on space policy, a rare treat for space enthusiasts voting in November.

Inasmuch as researcher who studies international affairs in spaceI am interested in how these recordings interface with the strategic and sustainable use of this field. A closer look shows that former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris used their positions to consistently prioritize U.S. leadership in space, but they did so with markedly different styles and results .

Trump’s record on space policy

As president, Trump established a track record of significant and lasting space policy decisions, but he did so by drawing more attention to his administration’s space activities than his predecessors. He regularly took out a personal loan for ideas and achievements which preceded his mandate.

The former president oversaw the creation of the US Space Force and the restoration of US Space Commandas well as the National Space Council. These organizations support the development and exploitation of military space technologies, defend national security satellites in future conflicts, and provide coordination among federal agencies working in the space domain.

He also had the most productive record of space policy guidelines in recent history. These policy directives clarify the U.S. government’s goals in space, including how it should both support and build on the commercial space sector, track objects in Earth’s orbit And protect satellites from cyber threats.

He considered his advocacy for the creation of the Space Force as one of his proudest achievements of his mandate. However, this advocacy contributed to polarized media for the new branch. This polarization broke the most common phenomenon model of bipartisan public support for space programming.

Like many presidents, not all of Trump’s space visions came to fruition. He succeeded redirected to key destination for NASA’s human spaceflight from Mars return to the Moon. But its explicit goal, for astronauts to reach the lunar surface by 2024, was not realisticgiven his proposed budget for the agency.

If re-elected, the former president may wish to accelerate NASA’s lunar projects by promoting investments in the agency’s Artemis programwhich houses its lunar initiatives.

He can present the initiative as a new space race against China.

Harris’ track record on space policy

The Biden administration continued to support Trump-era initiatives, resist the temptation to undo Or cancel past proposals. Its legacy in space is noticeably less.

As president of National Space CouncilHarris set priorities for U.S. space policy and represented the United States on the world stage.

Notably, the Trump administration retained this position that the president can change at will attributed to the vice president, a precedent that the Biden administration has maintained.

In this role, Harris led the The United States’ commitment to refrain from testing weapons in space that produce dangerous and long-lasting space debris. This decision marks an achievement for the United States in ensuring the sustainability of space operations and setting an example for others in the international space community.

Like some of the Trump administration’s space policy priorities, not all of Harris’ proposals have found traction in Washington.

The council’s plan to establish a framework for overall management regulate commercial space activities in the United States, for example, blocked in Congress.

Had they been adopted, these new regulations would have ensured that future space activities, such as private companies operating on the Moon Or transport tourists into orbit and backpass critical security checks.

If elected, Harris could choose to continue her efforts to shape standards for responsible behavior in space and organize oversight of the space industry.

Alternatively, she could hand the portfolio over to her own vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who has virtually no track record on space policy.

Stability of major space policy decisions

Despite the two candidates’ very different agendas, voters can expect stability in U.S. space policy following this year’s elections.

Given their past leadership, it is unlikely that either candidate will seek to radically change the long-term missions that the largest government space organizations have underway during the next presidential term. And neither is likely to call into question the achievements of their predecessors.

Thomas G. Robertspostdoctoral researcher in international affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology

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