NASA chief: there are almost infinite possibilities that there’s another Earth where life has developed

On the last day of his visit to Poland, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Bill Nelson told TVN24's Piotr Kraśko how he remembered going into outer space.

"As a politician, I was struck by the fact, as I orbited the Earth every 90 minutes, I looked, I didn’t see any racial divisions, I didn’t see political division, I didn’t see religious division. I saw that we are all in this together. We are citizens of planet Earth. I wish every politician could go into space and have that feeling, maybe it could change our politics. Because in politics, we always want to divide. Space can bring us together," he said.

Asked if going into space is a life-changing experience, he replied: "It is. I became more of an environmentalist when I went into space because I could look at the rim of the Earth, and I could see a thin film that sustains all our life – the atmosphere. It was so thin, and yet so fragile I became wanting to be a better steward when I came back to Earth".

"Well, there’s a lot of shake, rattle and roll, you’re strapped in and you hope you’re going straight up," Nelson recalled the launch. "Fortunately, it was this incredible experience. Sadly, only to return to Earth on our mission 37 years ago. And 10 days later, Challenger launched, blew up ten miles high in the Florida sky, and it was a reminder that space flight is difficult. Space flight is risky. Space is hard," he stressed.

The NASA chief also spoke about the planned space mission to the Moon. One of the key objectives is to establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. The first landing has been scheduled for 2025.

"As we are in low Earth orbit with our space station, we get in a few hours. To go to the Moon, it will take us 3 or 4 days. To go to Mars, it takes us month and months, so each step is a very difficult task. And that’s why we’re going back to the Moon after 50 years. We’re going back to the Moon to live, to work, to invent, to create, so that we can send humans safely to Mars and bring them home," he said.

"Generally, space flight is very popular even in getting the money in Congress, but we go back to the Moon this time in a different way – we go back with international partners, and we go back with commercial partners. So, we are sharing in the expenses, we are sharing in the experiences, we are sharing in space in an international way. And that’s why I’m so happy to be here in Poland, a one of our international partners through the European Space Agency. And I think it’s a great future that Poland has in space," the NASA chief added.

On Thursday, the NASA chief visited Polish Space Agency (POLSA).

"I think it’s to be determined. It depends on, for example, if we ever get to where we perfect nuclear fusion," Nelson said when asked about the limits of private business involvement in space exploration. "On the surface of the Moon there’s Helium-3 in abundance – that might be an opportunity to harvest Helium-3. But an asteroid, we might find an asteroid with precious metals. So, it’s to be determined – is the answer to your question. But in the meantime we have to explore, we do it together and we do it (as – edit.) safely as possible. "

Asked about the ownership of potential space discoveries, the NASA chief said: "Well that’s part of the Artemis Accords that Poland is a signatory (of – edit.)". "We go for peaceful purposes, we share, we help each other out in times of distress. The law on how you handle resources is going to be worked out as we go."

"The technology of the future is no telling," Bill Nelson said about potential future progress in space travel. "But think, we know how big the universe is because of the James Webb Space Telescope. When you think about going to another solar system, it’s going to take years and years, even if we go extremely fast. But say you’re going the speed of light, which now is inconceivable to us, but let’s you go the speed of light. 186,000 miles per second. But the next solar system might years and years and years away, even at the speed of light. So, there’s a vastness in that cosmos out there to explore," he explained.

Asked who would win the space race between the USA and China, Nelson said: "We will be landing on the Moon with the first woman and the next man in the late 2025 or 2026". "Our second lander, meaning the next created, built lander, will have a mission just about one a year. The second lander that we have just awarded to Blue Origin will be landing in 2028 or 2029. But, the Chinese government frequently says something, they do it, and then they try to beat that. So you could see a closer space race than what you think now," he added.

"In order to learn to go Mars, when we’re planning to go to Mars is 2040, that’s only 17 years from now," he said when asked if the Moon was the first necessary step to take before trying to get to Mars.

"Huge difference because conventional technology it would take us 6-8 months to get there. By the time you get there, the planets have realigned, you have to stay there a year, two years and then come back 6-8 months, we can’t do that. We need to dash two months, three months. We need to increase our ability to travel faster, with faster propulsion," Nelson said.

"We are constantly looking for life out in the universe. So I ask our scientists: what’s the probability? They said the probability of another sun like ours, with a planet like ours, just the right distance from the sun – so it’s not too hot or cold, in the vastness of this universe, (is – edit.) at least 1 trillion," he said.

"And then, when questioned, the scientist he said maybe two trillion. In other words, the cosmos is so large, so far, there are almost infinite possibilities that there’s another Earth where life has developed, and who knows – maybe it’s civilized," Bill Nelson added.

The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the highest-ranking official of NASA, the national space agency of the United States. The administrator is NASA's chief decision maker, responsible for providing clarity to the agency's vision and serving as a source of internal leadership within NASA. The office holder also has an important place within United States space policy, and is assisted by a deputy administrator.

The administrator is appointed by the president of the United States, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, and thereafter serves at the president’s pleasure. Former senator and astronaut Bill Nelson has served as the administrator since May 3, 2021.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH BILL NELSON BELOW