Former Administrator Bill Nelson leaves a letter for his replacement, praising the NASA workforce

With President Trump’s swearing-in yesterday at noon, the government has switched hands and will now be run by a completely new list of politicians and political agents who have gained favor in Trump’s eyes. Anyone who was previously in charge is out, and that includes Administrator Bill Nelson and his deputy Pam Melroy. Nelson marked the occasion with a letter, praising those who make NASA what it is and slightly hoping that his replacement keeps Artemis around.

“By the time you read this, you will have received a gift – the remarkable privilege you now share with 14 others: the extraordinary honor, as Administrator, to stand and serve with the NASA wizards.” This is how Nelson started off his letter addressed to his replacement, to who we assume will be Jared Isaacman in the coming weeks.

Letters to their soon replacements are commonplace during administration changes. Most notably, the private letter from the outgoing President to the incoming one. Most government officials will leave something to welcome their replacement in; normally, these aren’t shared publicly, but Nelson decided to break that norm.

“The NASA family embodies the can-do spirit that makes our Nation exceptional,” the letter continued. Nelson dives deep into what makes NASA a one-of-a-kind agency that can regularly unify the nation rather than drive it apart.

“How does NASA unite us? Through the people of NASA. Listen to them. Trust in them.”

NASA has regularly been ranked the top government agency to work for. The agency has regularly been able to recruit top talent to build its rockets, spacecraft, rovers, or telescopes as it continues to push the boundaries of space exploration. However, that drive has finally begun to see challengers in the private industry like SpaceX or Blue Origin.

Nelson’s letter is a reflection of his love for the agency, the love he had for it even as a senator from Florida. His love for the historic moments of the past, the wonders of the future, and, more importantly, the people that make it happen.

“We are merely temporary stewards of this extraordinary space agency. Humanity’s dream in the stars is bigger than any of us – bigger than any one person, one nation, and any one generation.”

NASA leadership confusion

With Administrator Nelson and President Biden out, President Trump is expected to have a new goal for the agency: landing humans on Mars. With Elon Musk having the ear of the President and wooing him with Starship launches, we can sit and wait for what changes might come to NASA’s Artemis Program and Space Launch System, which is its key component.

Before we find that out, President Trump needs his new NASA Administrator confirmed by the Senate. For now, the Senate is concerned about moving through Trump’s picks for his Cabinet, Secretary of State, Defense, Transportation, etc. This could take over a week to complete.

Until then, acting administrators and secretaries take control; normally, these are either lower-level, Senate-confirmed positions that stayed on from the previous administration or a high-level, long-serving civil servant. For NASA, that has normally been the Associate Administrator, the senior civil servant for the agency.

The agency updated its website listing Free as the new Acting Administrator after Trump was sworn in; however, in a shocking change of pace, President Trump appointed Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro to take charge. No clarification was provided for why Petro was chosen, although some rumors are that it is because Free was too involved with Artemis planning.

However, Trump is also from Florida. Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, is a close ally, and his only confirmed Cabinet member, Marco Rubio, as Secretary of State, was a Senator from Florida. DeSantis mentioned earlier this month that he believes NASA’s headquarters should be moved to Florida, given it launches “all” of its rockets from the state. While that is unlikely, Trump seemingly does love the state he currently calls home. So it might have just been that simple.