The final frontier is reachable

A little noticed anniversary of one of the most significant dates in Houston history passed last month without fanfare. On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy stood before a crowd at Rice Stadium to deliver what became known as the "we choose to go the moon" speech, dramatically defining the mission of this nation's embryonic space program.

Another address on the same subject delivered last week received almost as little publicity as the JFK anniversary, but it deserved more attention – especially here in Houston. At the National Air and Space Museum, Vice President Mike Pence broadly outlined the Trump Administration's goals for "a new era of American space leadership." Just as President Kennedy did 55 years ago, Pence set the course for a new generation of astronauts to land on the moon and build the foundation for flights to Mars.

That's encouraging news for the men and women of NASA who have dedicated their lives to space exploration, but they've heard sky-high promises like these before. Now the White House needs to get specific, and Congress needs to open its checkbook.

During last year's presidential campaign, Trump and his rival Hillary Clinton said almost nothing about space exploration. That bodes poorly for NASA, which has spent years relying upon Russia for rides into the sky. The agency literally hasn't had what it takes to launch astronauts into orbit since the space shuttle fleet was retired in 2011.

But six months after his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order reviving the National Space Council, a dormant government entity formed during the earliest days of the space race with the Soviet Union. Just as President Kennedy put the council under the leadership of Vice President Lyndon Johnson, Trump tapped Pence as his point man on space.

Last week, in his first meeting with the council, Pence proved he's taking the job seriously. The vice president bluntly described how America had become lost in space, and he broadly outlined a plan to reclaim the nation's place in the final frontier. In an era when commercial enterprises like Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin are capturing headlines, Pence made it abundantly clear the U.S. government is serious about reclaiming the high ground in the heavens. The vice president called for the U.S. "to maintain a constant commercial, human presence in low-Earth orbit." And he called for a return to the moon as a foundation for sending Americans "to Mars and beyond."

That sounds great, but veterans of America's space program have good reason to be skeptical. Other administrations have spewed lofty rhetoric about flying to the moon and Mars, but their promises have turned out to be science fiction. President Obama even talked about landing on an asteroid, forcing the space agency to waste a lot of time and effort on a cockamamie idea that didn't have a prayer of getting off the ground.

Pence needs to seriously consider an idea backed by a member of Houston's congressional delegation that would help shield NASA from the shifting winds of presidential politics. U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, suggests appointing its administrators to ten year terms, like FBI directors. The administrator and an independent board, Culberson proposes, also would submit budgets directly to Congress to insulate the agency from the whims of the executive branch. Presidents would still nominate the NASA's leader, but this would bring a greater level of stability to an agency that gets jerked in a different direction every time a new president takes office.

The vice-president hit the right notes with his speech last week. But we'll believe him when the high-flying concepts get off the ground, when the contractors get their orders and the checks clear the bank. Now he and his boss need to follow through with specific programs, attainable goals and adequate funding for the nation's space effort

Our space agency has a proven history of accomplishing the seemingly impossible. If President Trump really wants to make America great again, NASA knows how to get the job done.