Billionaire spacewalker highlights Mars trip for astronauts in his bid to become NASA's next chief

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The nominee for NASA's top job, billionaire spacewalker Jared Isaacman, outlined his vision for space exploration on Wednesday that prioritizes sending astronauts to Mars without giving up on the moon.

''It's imperative that we do both,'' Isaacman told senators.

President Donald Trump nominated Isaacman to become NASA's 15th administrator late last year. If confirmed, the tech entrepreneur would become the youngest person to lead the space agency and among only a handful of administrators to have actually rocketed into orbit.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee gathered in Washington for the nomination hearing. Besides Isaacman, nine other experienced space travelers were in the audience, including NASA's next moon crew and passengers who flew on private spaceflights with him.

Isaacman assured the senators that he would not give up on the moon and wants the U.S. to beat China in landing astronauts there.

''I didn't say we shouldn't go to the moon,'' he said. ''What's taking so long to get back to the moon and why does it cost so much money? I absolutely want to see us return to the moon.''

Moon and Mars expeditions can be developed in parallel. ''I don't think these are either-or,'' he added. NASA can afford both under current funding, he said, without elaborating.

He acknowledged in his testimony that he is not ''a typical nominee for this position.''

''I have been relatively apolitical; I am not a scientist and I never worked at NASA," he said. ''I do not think these are weaknesses.''

The space agency and others were anxious to hear Isaacman's stand on the moon and Mars for human exploration, given his close association with SpaceX's Elon Musk.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the committee's chairman, urged the need to ''stay the course'' with NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon.

''An extreme shift in priorities at this stage would almost certainly mean a red moon, ceding ground to China for generations to come," Cruz said.

Artemis has been slow going and expensive, especially for NASA's Space Launch System rocket. It's only blasted off once so far — in 2022 without a crew.

Musk favors Mars as a destination, as he ramps up more test flights out of Texas for Starship, the world's biggest and most powerful rocket. By making Starship reusable, he intends to dramatically lower costs of getting people and equipment to the red planet.

NASA has chosen Starship for its first two astronaut landings on the moon under Artemis, named after Apollo's twin sister in Greek mythology.

When asked if Musk has contacted him since his nomination about how to manage NASA, Isaacman replied, ''not at all.'' Isaacman then was questioned how he would protect against undue influence from Musk, given SpaceX's billions of dollars' worth of contracts with NASA.

''I absolutely want to be clear," Isaacman said. ''My loyalty is to this nation, the space agency and their world-changing mission."

When pressed by senators again before the hearing ended, Isaacman said the space station should keep going until it's replaced by private outposts in orbit.

___