THE MOON CLOCK: The Biden administration still plans to stick to former President Donald Trump's aggressive goal to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2024. But the presumptive NASA boss made it clear this week we shouldn't hold our breath. "I think you may be pleased that we're going to see that timetable try to be adhered to, but recognize that with some sobering reality that space is hard," former Sen. Bill Nelson told the Senate Commerce Committee in his confirmation hearing. Nelson also doubled down on Biden's planned budget increase for the space agency, particularly the $2.3 billion for the earth science portfolio to help confront climate change. "It's a very important increase," he testified. "You can't mitigate climate change unless you can measure it, and that's NASA's expertise." As for NASA's big-ticket programs such as the Boeing Space Launch System, which is central to the moon program, but is much delayed and over budget? It's no surprise that the former Florida lawmaker is still on board, telling Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) that continuity is "very important," adding it "takes a long time to develop these technologies and this is cutting-edge stuff. So it didn't just start yesterday." Nelson is proving to be one of the smoothest nominations for Biden so far. "There are not many Biden nominees about whom I am enthusiastic," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said. "Your nomination is a notable exception to that." Related: Pam Melroy to be nominated to be NASA deputy administrator, via SpacePolicyOnline. And: NASA Statement on Nomination of Margaret Vo Schaus for Agency CFO. THE MONEY'S ON MUSK: Speaking of the Artemis project to return to the moon, NASA's surprise decision on Friday to award only one $2.9 billion contract for the Human Landing System — instead of two — is still sinking in. It's safe to say a lot is riding on the winner, SpaceX, which outbid a team consisting of Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, and another led by Dynetics. "Given SpaceX's price, a protest may be difficult," predicts Roman Schweizer, an analyst at Cowen and Company. The contract is for two flights to the moon aboard the Starship (the first unmanned and the second crewed). The Space Launch System is set to carry astronauts into space inside the Orion capsule built by Lockheed before meeting up with the Starship to get them to the surface and then back to Earth. ICYMI: NASA's source selection statement Related: All in on Starship, via The Space Review. 'UNFETTERED ACCESS TO THE SUN'S RAYS': Space solar power, that is. The National Space Society is out with a new video titled "Dear Earth: We're Sorry for What We've Done to You" that makes the case for a major push to tap into solar power from orbit to provide unlimited energy for the entire planet, night and day. "We have a new source of power at our fingertips," the narrator says. "Space solar power is clean, abundant, and the cost of collecting and transmitting back to you, dear Earth, are negligible. … We have the rockets and proven technology we need to start building space solar power now. We may even be able to utilize the resources of your neighbor, the moon, to build these orbiting power stations." The military's technologists are also making a fresh case for taking solar energy to the next step. "If the solar panels were in orbit they could have unfettered access to the sun's rays, providing an uninterrupted supply of energy," the Air Force Research Laboratory contends in a new video highlighting its Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research Project. A leading space solar power evangelist, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Peter Garretson, now a senior fellow for defense studies at the American Foreign Policy Council, put it this way: "We can treat the symptoms or we can come up with the cure." Oh, and happy belated Earth Day. Related: NASA and the new urgency of climate change, via Space News. | 
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