Leaders | Heavy lift

NASA is an obvious target for Elon Musk’s axe

Its Moon programme is a mess. But DOGE is likely to struggle to cut it to size

The Artemis I unmanned lunar rocket sits on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida
Photograph: Getty Images

They say you should do something you love. Jared Isaacman, a tech billionaire nominated on December 4th as Donald Trump’s choice to run NASA, is so keen on space that he has spent hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money to go there not once, but twice.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Heavy lift”

From the December 7th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Leaders

Four test tubes in the shape of human figures, connected hand in hand, partially filled with a blue liquid. A dropper adds some liquid to the last figure

How to improve clinical trials

Involving more participants can lead to new medical insights

Container ship at sunrise in the Red Sea

Houthi Inc: the pirates who weaponised globalisation

Their Red Sea protection racket is a disturbing glimpse into an anarchic world


Donald Trump will upend 80 years of American foreign policy

A superpower’s approach to the world is about to be turned on its head


Rising bond yields should spur governments to go for growth

The bond sell-off may partly reflect America’s productivity boom

Much of the damage from the LA fires could have been averted

The lesson of the tragedy is that better incentives will keep people safe