WEBVTT - NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman Talks US Space Travel 

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>President Donald Trump hosting the Otomus two Astronauts of the

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<v Speaker 2>White House this week, the visit coming nearly a month

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<v Speaker 2>after that historic trip around the Moon.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm really pleased to say that.

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<v Speaker 2>In the studio here in New York City, the NASA

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<v Speaker 2>Administrator Jared Isaac mund John, good.

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<v Speaker 3>Morning, going to see you. It's good morning. It's great

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<v Speaker 3>to be here.

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<v Speaker 2>The pitches are Amazac. I understand it costs a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of money. Can you explain to all of us what

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<v Speaker 2>we actually achieved in the last month.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, I would consider that Artemist two is part of

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<v Speaker 4>a much bigger plan. So President Trump, during his first

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<v Speaker 4>term created the Artemist program, America's commitment to return to

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<v Speaker 4>the Moon. My first day on the job, he signs

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<v Speaker 4>a National Space policy that says, pick up where Apollo

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<v Speaker 4>seventeen left off, return to the Moon, but go back

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<v Speaker 4>to stay this time.

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<v Speaker 3>Build an enduring presidence, good luck.

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<v Speaker 4>Build a moon base, which I mean it's going to

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<v Speaker 4>be a hub for scientific discovery, economic potential. Maybe we

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<v Speaker 4>have a lunar economy someday, but it will be the

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<v Speaker 4>technological proving ground for where.

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<v Speaker 3>We go next.

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<v Speaker 4>Choose Mars, so all part of a bigger plan. Artemis

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<v Speaker 4>two is just the opening act.

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<v Speaker 2>In the period of time, we have changed space exploration

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<v Speaker 2>a lot. We've introduced commercial space exploration. What does that

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<v Speaker 2>mean for the role of NASA as we try to

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<v Speaker 2>achieve these things.

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<v Speaker 4>It's interesting I get that question all the time because

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<v Speaker 4>there are some new names. You have your SpaceX's and

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<v Speaker 4>Blue origins that get everyone's attention. It's like, where does

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<v Speaker 4>NASA fit in? I remind folks, you go back to

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<v Speaker 4>the nineteen sixties. You had Boeing, yet McDonald douglas built

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<v Speaker 4>the gem and E spacecraft. You had a Grummin that

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<v Speaker 4>built the lander that put the astronauts on the Moon.

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<v Speaker 4>Many of those players still exist today, but we have

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<v Speaker 4>some new and SpaceX Blue origin. NASA is at its

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<v Speaker 4>best when we're doing the near impossible with no other agency, company,

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<v Speaker 4>nation in the world is capable of accomplishing. And when

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<v Speaker 4>we figure it out, if NASA can be one customer

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<v Speaker 4>of many, we hand it off to industry and let

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<v Speaker 4>competitive dynamics make it better.

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<v Speaker 3>Costs less. Launch is a great example.

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<v Speaker 4>Right now, dozens of companies brought down the costput mass

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<v Speaker 4>in orbit, materially, NASA recalibrates. Like that picture you had

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<v Speaker 4>on the screen, which was a nuclear powered spaceship, that's

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<v Speaker 4>not something industry should be playing with. They don't need

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<v Speaker 4>to mess around with highly enriched uranium launch you know,

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<v Speaker 4>reactors over Earth. That's something that NASA is capable of doing.

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<v Speaker 4>So we recalibrate again back to the near impossible.

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<v Speaker 3>The capabilities allow us to explore the outer Solis.

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<v Speaker 1>Just I think about the space race down back in

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<v Speaker 1>the fifties and sixties and how much that put grants

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<v Speaker 1>in all sorts of academic centers to try to get

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<v Speaker 1>up new scientists, to get them into exactly that kind

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<v Speaker 1>of thing. Is this kind of what we're replicating here?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, I like to think, and I just told this

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<v Speaker 4>to Congress this past week, is every dollar you give

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<v Speaker 4>us inherent in it is inspiration. So of course, the rockets,

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<v Speaker 4>the rockets, the astronauts walking on the Moon, the explanes,

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<v Speaker 4>the images that come back from James Webspace telescope or

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<v Speaker 4>our rovers on Mars. But that's that's not enough, right,

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<v Speaker 4>that's enough to spark the interest, you know, more kids

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<v Speaker 4>dressing up as astronauts for Halloween. But we still have

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<v Speaker 4>a huge grant portfolio that goes out to university. We

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<v Speaker 4>have a top internship program right now, we take the

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<v Speaker 4>top one percent of internship applications. And what I like

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<v Speaker 4>about our moon based program right now, we're going to

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<v Speaker 4>have landers on the Moon on a near monthly cadence

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<v Speaker 4>starting in early twenty twenty Sivean. We could raid the

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<v Speaker 4>pantry at every NASA center for science instruments, there won't

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<v Speaker 4>be enough.

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<v Speaker 3>So what does that mean?

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<v Speaker 4>There's kids in universities right now in the United States

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<v Speaker 4>and across the world that are working on hardware that's

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<v Speaker 4>going to be on the Moon in the years ahead.

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<v Speaker 1>There's an argument why focus on space when we have

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of problems here on Earth to fix? Can

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<v Speaker 1>you give us a sense of some of the scientific

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<v Speaker 1>progress that's coming from some of these programs that has

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<v Speaker 1>real world application beyond just necessarily hyperscalers on the moon?

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<v Speaker 3>Sure?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, I mean, first, we've been hearing this since the

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<v Speaker 4>nineteen sixties too, And what I would say, it's a different,

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<v Speaker 4>different budgetary environment now versus then. So nineteen sixties NASA

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<v Speaker 4>is about four and a half percent of discretionary budget.

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<v Speaker 4>We're about a quarter of a percentage now, So I.

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<v Speaker 3>Would argue we can do both.

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<v Speaker 4>We can make investments into a brighter future for the

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<v Speaker 4>for the world we want our children to grow up

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<v Speaker 4>and try and address some of the hardships, the affordability,

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<v Speaker 4>the challenges of the world we live in today. And

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<v Speaker 4>does it matter for sure? Inspiration is a price worth

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<v Speaker 4>paying for the next generation to take us even farther

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<v Speaker 4>scientific economic potential, I mean, we go to the moon.

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<v Speaker 4>What could a lunar economy look like someday? I mean,

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<v Speaker 4>whether we are three D printing satellites like you described,

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<v Speaker 4>or maybe we're mining helium three that could have quantum

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<v Speaker 4>implications or futuresion or future fusion power, a source of

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<v Speaker 4>future fusion power, not to mention to just look knowledge.

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<v Speaker 4>I mean, what do we stand to learning game? We've

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<v Speaker 4>only just begun this great adventure.

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<v Speaker 2>Can you achieve these goals with budget cuts? They're the

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<v Speaker 2>questions you've faced all through the last few weeks.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, I guess, and I'll tell you the same thing

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<v Speaker 4>I told Congress on that is, you can't just look

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<v Speaker 4>at the president's FY twenty seven budget requests without taking

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<v Speaker 4>it in combination with the historic ten billion dollar investment

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<v Speaker 4>that came from the Working Family Tax Cut Act, that

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<v Speaker 4>one big, beautiful bill, President Trump's signature legislation. You take

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<v Speaker 4>that ten billion plus twenty six appropriations plus twenty seven

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<v Speaker 4>what can we do.

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<v Speaker 3>We can go back to the moon. We can do

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<v Speaker 3>it with frequency.

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<v Speaker 4>We can build the moon base, we can launch a

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<v Speaker 4>giant nuclear powered interplanetary spaceship and do all.

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<v Speaker 3>The other things.

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<v Speaker 2>You've been to space, not once but twice, right, yes, sir.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't have the imagination that you have about what

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<v Speaker 2>this could be. When I hear things like data centers

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<v Speaker 2>in space, I'm like, these guys are crazy. I just

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<v Speaker 2>haven't flexed that muscle. I was never into sci fi.

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<v Speaker 2>What could this be? What do you tell people? How

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<v Speaker 2>imaginative do you need to be?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, let let me let me hit that on two

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<v Speaker 4>points one? Where do you know what I What is

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<v Speaker 4>my takeaway from coming back from space more twice? At

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<v Speaker 4>this point we are at with respect to even exploring

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<v Speaker 4>our Solar system, let alone the galaxy that you know,

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<v Speaker 4>or the or the two trillion other galaxies out there.

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<v Speaker 4>We're at the equivalency of hollowing out a log and

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<v Speaker 4>using it to float across a pond like that is

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<v Speaker 4>where we are at in this great adventure.

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<v Speaker 3>It is so early.

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<v Speaker 4>I mean, you have no idea where this is going

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<v Speaker 4>to take us in years ahead, and then how do

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<v Speaker 4>we get there? Well, a space economy sure would be great,

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<v Speaker 4>because I don't think we're going to have that sci

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<v Speaker 4>fi future we imagine with lots of space stations in

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<v Speaker 4>orbital outposts and a Mars space if it's entirely paid

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<v Speaker 4>for by the taxpayers. So I want data centers in

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<v Speaker 4>space to work. Why not take advantage of a giant

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<v Speaker 4>fusion reactor that's already out there. I want, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>I want to three I want us three D printing organs.

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<v Speaker 4>I want us making cancer curing drugs in micro gravity.

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<v Speaker 4>I want all that to come to fruition. We can't

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<v Speaker 4>force it into existence at NASA, but we can do

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<v Speaker 4>all we can to ignite it.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, when Jared walked into the studio, one of

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<v Speaker 2>my first questions to him was, you've made lots of money,

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<v Speaker 2>You've had this great successful life in private business. Why

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<v Speaker 2>don't you want to go to complement I've never heard

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<v Speaker 2>someone so excited in that jomb On gomplment.

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<v Speaker 1>He feels like you can make a difference.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know. It's very exciting here.

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<v Speaker 1>I wish I could hear you talk for the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of the hour, frankly, because to me, this is really

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<v Speaker 1>the exciting stuff where we could actually innovate and find

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<v Speaker 1>new places. Do we want to find aliens though? Do

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<v Speaker 1>we actually want to find other life?

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<v Speaker 3>I don't think so.

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<v Speaker 2>Fers and the eye, No, I don't know.

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<v Speaker 4>This is the heart of what we do at NASA's

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<v Speaker 4>to answer the question are we alone? Okay, I don't

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<v Speaker 4>know how across two trillion galaxies that we are not.

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<v Speaker 4>I when I have this conversation with a lot of

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<v Speaker 4>folks and we ad missions out there.

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<v Speaker 3>Right, We're launched a.

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<v Speaker 4>Probe to Europa called Europa Clipper looking for biosignatures. We're

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<v Speaker 4>launching a nuclear powered octicopter to Saturn's moon of Titan

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<v Speaker 4>to look for biosignatures. And we have samples and tubes

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<v Speaker 4>on Mars and if we bring those back, we put

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<v Speaker 4>it in a better ninety percent chance.

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<v Speaker 2>To hint the bright life. And you know what farirasee

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<v Speaker 2>theorists are going to say, they pulled the plug, they

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<v Speaker 2>pulled the plugg would be he.

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<v Speaker 3>Was about to say it.

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<v Speaker 2>He was about to say it, Jared, thank you, sir, appreciate,

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<v Speaker 2>thank you. Jered is the NASSA administrator,