Jared Isaacman's Big NASA Test: What's Next?

Jared Isaacman, a billionaire tech boss and friend of Elon Musk, is back in the hot seat. He's up for a big job: running NASA. But first, he's got to convince a group of senators that he's the right guy for the role. This isn't his first time at the rodeo. Back in April, he had a similar chat with senators. But then, things got complicated. President Trump had a falling out with Musk and suddenly pulled Isaacman's nomination. Fast forward to November, and Isaacman is back in the running. Now, Isaacman's facing a second round of questions. This time, it's all about a leaked document called Project Athena. It's a 62-page plan outlining his vision for NASA. Some parts of it are already outdated, but it's still causing quite a stir. The document talks about big changes. Think nuclear electric propulsion, a Mars exploration program, and a new way of doing things: accelerate, fix, or delete. But how will these plans work with NASA's existing Artemis program? That's a big question. Artemis is NASA's big push to get astronauts back to the moon. The next mission, Artemis II, is set to launch as early as February. It's a crewed flight, but the astronauts won't be landing on the moon. They'll just fly around it. But Project Athena isn't all smooth sailing. Some parts are controversial, especially the ideas about NASA's science initiatives. Isaacman wants to hand over more of the agency's research to private companies. He's been quick to deny rumors that he wants to cut NASA's science budget. In fact, he's even offered to pay for a new space telescope himself. Still, not everyone's convinced. Some senators are worried. They don't want to see NASA's science initiatives get the axe. They want Isaacman to prove he's not just a yes-man for the administration's plans.