The billionaire tech entrepreneur says Americans will walk on the moon and Mars.
Polaris Dawn crewmembers (from left) Anna Menon, Sarah Gillis, and Jared Isaacman speak on a panel during the 2024 UP.Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas. Credit: UP.Summit
President-elect Donald Trump has picked private astronaut and billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman as the administrator of NASA.
Trump confirmed the nomination on Wednesday in a post on X.
“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” Trump wrote in the post. “Over the past 25 years, as the founder and CEO of Shift4, Jared has demonstrated exceptional leadership, building a trailblazing global financial technology company. He also co-founded and served as CEO of Draken International, a defense aerospace company, for over a decade, supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, and our allies.”
READ MORE: Polaris Dawn crew talks mission highlights, next steps
Isaacman, 41, was the first commercial astronaut to perform a private spacewalk in September when he left a SpaceX capsule hundreds of miles above Earth. The nomination drew praise from X CEO Elon Musk, who made a post congratulating Isaacman.
Isaacman thanked Trump for the nomination in a post on X, saying the second space age was just beginning.
“Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars and in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth,” Isaacman said in the post. “It is the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role and to work alongside NASA’s extraordinary team to realize our shared dreams of exploration and discovery.”
Editor’s note: This story first appeared on FLYING.
