spacetoday.net: Trump picks KSC director to be acting NASA administrator

Posted: Sat, Jan 25, 2025, 10:11 AM ET (1511 GMT)
The second Trump administration started Monday with calls to send humans to Mars but confusion about who was running NASA. In his inaugural address, President Trump said the U.S. would pursue its "manifest destiny" by "launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars," but did not set a timetable to do so or provide other details. As Trump took office, NASA updated its website to list Jim Free, the agency's associate administrator, as its acting administrator with the departure of Bill Nelson. However, later in the afternoon the White House said that Janet Petro, the director of the Kennedy Space Center, would serve as acting administrator. NASA confirmed late Monday that Petro was the acting administrator but didn't explain why Free was originally listed in that position. The White House also formally nominated Jared Isaacman to be NASA administrator on Monday, a post that requires Senate confirmation. Trump said in December he planned to nominate him to lead the agency.