NASA Bill Nelson administrator talks about a briefing on the Artemis 1 mission on August 3, 2022, at the headquarters of the NASA of Mary W. Jackson in Washington, DC Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
NASA leaders sit in an embarrassing position. While I am the head of a widely recognized organization, they are often not the most famous individual of the agency. More people probably know the names of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the astronauts currently “blocked” on the international space station, which Bill Nelson, the current NASA administrator.
Astronauts could be the people most closely associated with NASA, but the administrators are probably more fundamental to get the programs to take off.
As an expert in space policies, I have seen the impact that NASA leaders can have on NASA’s success. They play a vital role in deciding what NASA does and how it does, and also help to build political support for exploration of space.
The role of NASA administrator
NASA is an independent government bureaucracy, which means that it does not fall into one of the cabinet departments, such as the State Department. As such, the NASA leader is an administrator rather than a secretary.
Although the name differs, a NASA administrator has homework and responsibilities similar to a cabinet secretary. They help to make decisions on which important programs and policies should be pursued and how they are made. NASA administrators work with partners in the sector, including the commercial space industry. They also represent NASA while presenting themselves at Congress and during diplomatic relations with other countries.
NASA administrators are also responsible for elected officials. The administrators are appointed by the president but must be confirmed by the Senate. The congress has a lot to say about the budget that NASA gets every year. They must also authorize the main programs, such as the Artemis program, which aims to return the United States and its partners on the moon.
Although important decisions like these are often out of their hands, NASA administrators still have a lot of influence behind the scenes. James Webb, the second administrator of NASA, who held the office between 1961 and 1968, is often attributed as full in the maintenance of political support for the Apollo program.
Dan Goldin, the most long -lived NASA administrator, contributed to saving the International Space Station from cancellation in the early 90s convincing the Clinton administration to invite the participation of Russia.
As administrator in the early 2000s, Mike Griffin contributed to skipping the commercial space industry by establishing the commercial program of orbital transport services. This program provided funding to the companies that would have sent goods to the International Space Station for the first time and, subsequently, the astronauts.
However, not all administrators are productive such as Webb, Goldin or Griffin. Richard was truly fired from the post by George HW Bush in 1992 after being disagreed with the 1989 administration proposal to return the United States to the Moon.
Charles Bolden found controversy when he told Al-Jazeera that President Barack Obama ordered him to raise awareness of Muslim countries one of the priorities of NASA.
Both really that Bolden were astronauts before becoming an administrator. But this does not mean that the former astronauts are somehow worse in the position compared to people from other contexts. NASA administrators have historically had a wide range of backgrounds, including scientists, engineers and even former members of the congress.
The current NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, is both a former senator and an former astronaut, having gone to the space on the Columbia shuttle in January 1986.
Important questions in sight
Regardless of the administrator, the next few years will bring great decisions for anyone who is the next.
With the recent announcement that the Around-The-Moon mission of Artemis II is delayed until the spring of 2026, NASA still has a lot of work to do in its Artemis program. The main problems remain to be addressed with the crew vehicle, including problems with the capsule heat shield and electronic systems.
In addition, the success of commercial space companies such as Spacex means that there will be greater pressure on NASA to find ways to reduce costs by exploiting the services of commercial companies.
More generally, many other countries are looking for how the United States operate in space. Apart from what some see as a new spatial race with China, the questions about space debris, the management of space traffic and space resources will entail cooperation with other countries and require an involvement of the administrator.
Finally, the NASA administrator will face a recurring problem: less resources. Historically, NASA has been appropriate less money than necessary to perform all the things that was accused of doing.
This situation leads to difficult decisions on which types of missions. Space science and robotic exploration generally lose things such as human spatial flight.
Even if the next administrator will have to make difficult decisions, the next few years will be full of excitement since the United States and the others pursue increasingly ambitious objectives. 
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