‘Space aficionado’ Kamala Harris aims for moonshot presidency

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have at least one thing in common: They are both determined to put astronauts back on the moon to build a lunar base, in what is being viewed as the new space race with China.

In most areas the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates are poles apart, but when it comes to space the Biden administration’s policy spearheaded by Harris has largely been a continuation of Trump’s legacy.

One of Harris’ less widely tracked roles is chair of the U.S. National Space Council. Those who have engaged with her view her as an active and detail-oriented advocate of getting back to the moon under the so-called Artemis program. That initiative was launched under Trump and has continued ever since, with a lunar landing likely after 2026, within the next presidential term.

As part of the overall U.S. space strategy, NASA has focused on convincing other nations to sign onto the Artemis Accords — America’s preferred rules for exploring and exploiting the moon and outer space — viewed as a counterweight to China’s project to build a lunar base.

Several countries, including Russia, Pakistan and Venezuela, have already signed up to Beijing’s plan.

Harris, meanwhile, has been at the forefront of helping convince many others to join the Artemis coalition. 

“She has been a vocal supporter of the Artemis campaign to return astronauts to the moon and on to Mars, and has been a key advocate for the importance of space cooperation with our international partners and growing the number of Artemis Accord signatories,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told POLITICO in a statement.

Nelson praised Harris further at a POLITICO event on Tuesday, noting that in the Senate she represented California, a state that has three NASA centers.

“I had lengthy talks with her about space,” Nelson said. “She’s a space aficionado.”

Space specialist

Those on the receiving end of Harris’ diplomatic efforts are thrilled at the prospect of a space expert in the White House.

It was Harris who first announced that NASA plans to send a non-American to the moon under the Artemis program.

“She’s across the details,” said one senior space official in Europe who has worked with Harris and pushed for a European candidate to be the first to fly on Artemis. “Kamala has done a really good job of pulling everything together on space over the last few years.”

US Vice President Kamala Harris and French President Emmanuel Macron. | Ludovic Marin/Getty Images

When French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to the United States to pitch his preferred candidate for a future European seat on a moon mission, he went to Harris. (In the end, however, a Japanese astronaut is to get the first non-American seat to the moon.)

Harris has also delved into the military domain, kick-starting efforts to stop space powers from using direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles capable of smashing spacecraft into thousands of bits of high-velocity debris in orbit.

Some 42 countries have now signed on to the Artemis Accords, and at least 36 to the ASAT moratorium pushed by Harris.

“She’s behind the ASAT ban and this wasn’t an obvious thing in the beginning of the term,” said Jérôme Barbier, head of space at the Paris Peace Forum, adding that the next U.S. presidency is shaping up to be big on space affairs.

Harris’ team also has close ties with the American space agency. In July, NASA Press Secretary Faith McKie started work as deputy press secretary in Harris’ office in the White House shortly before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

What’s more, ex-astronaut and current Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is among those touted as a potential vice presidential candidate for Harris. Political leaders in the space sector, including NASA’s Nelson, are over the moon about the possibility of so much space experience in the White House.

Business as usual

Despite her background, however, it’s unlikely a Harris administration would make revolutionary new moves on space beyond pressing ahead with Artemis.

Harris expressed little interest in space issues before being tasked to lead the National Space Council, and it took several months to get the council up and running — “an indication that it was not a top priority for her,” said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Harrison also noted that Kelly had criticized Trump’s creation of the Space Force — a new branch of the U.S. military — repeatedly calling it “a dumb idea” on social media in 2018.

“He turned his joke into government policy that will cost billions of dollars and will not strengthen the capability of the United States Department of Defense,” Kelly said in a video posted on X.

NASA has also struggled to obtain a budget large enough to undertake missions it views as crucial for exploring the moon and beyond. If Harris continues the Biden administration’s policy, it’s unlikely the space agency would see a significant boost in funding.

Likewise, if Kelly gets the nod to join the ticket as vice president, he would likely be a strong supporter of NASA and the Artemis program, “but the support of the VP doesn’t matter much when it comes to the hard fights over budget priorities,” Harrison said.

The Starship is vital to NASA’s plans for landing astronauts on the Moon later this decade. | Chandan Khanna/Getty Images

Overall, space experts are expecting more of the same if Harris takes office.

“If you look at national space policies in general, they really don’t change too much from administration to administration,” said Victoria Samson, Washington office director for the Secure World Foundation.

A question remains, however, as to how a Harris administration would treat China and Russia. 

The last remnant of U.S.-Russia space cooperation is the International Space Station, a partnership that will end during the next administration, Samson noted. U.S. law also makes it harder for NASA and Beijing’s space agency to collaborate, a point of tension in recent weeks as China makes major scientific advancements on the moon.

With Harris and Trump slugging away at each other in the run-up to the November election, space is one of the few areas where the two almost see eye-to-eye.

“The interesting part will be to see how they play on that during the campaign,” said Barbier from the Paris Peace Forum. “Precisely because on space [the Biden administration] to a large extent built on what the Trump administration was doing.”