Mars Chocolate on Mars Rover: Should NASA Place Ads on Rockets?

What’s the story?

• NASA has called for the creation of a new committee to explore the possibility of placing branding on rockets and allowing astronauts to participate in commercial endorsements.

Why does NASA need ads?

During a NASA Advisory Council meeting on August 29, agency Administrator Jim Bridenstine asked, “Is it possible for NASA to offset some of its costs by selling the naming rights to its spacecraft, or the naming rights to its rockets?”

“I’m telling you there is interest in that right now. The question is: Is it possible? The answer is: I don’t know, but we want somebody to give us advice on whether it is.”

• Bridenstine added that he’d also like to see astronauts treated like celebrities—with the same endorsement deals.

"I'd like to see kids growing up, instead of maybe wanting to be like a professional sports star, I'd like to see them grow up wanting to be a NASA astronaut, or a NASA scientist. I'd like to see, maybe one day, NASA astronauts on the cover of a cereal box, embedded into the American culture."

What’s the reaction?

• Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly – who spent nearly a year in space – said in an email to The Washington Post that it “would be a dramatic shift from the rules prohibiting government officials from using their public office for private gain. But I guess this is the world we live in now. ”
• Michael Lopez-Alegria, another former NASA astronaut, told the Post that he worries about the federal agency competing against the commercial space sector.

“It’s going to be really hard for NASA or any government agency to put itself in a position where it can become a de facto endorser of this product or that product,” he said. “To me, it’s like nails on a chalkboard. It’s just not right. ”

• Lopez-Alegria is also concerned that Congress could see NASA getting funding from the commercial sector and concluding, “We’re not going to pay anymore.”
• The Science and Technology Policy Institute found that a privately run space station could generate between $455 million to $1.2 billion a year via commercial activities, including selling off naming rights, hosting tourists, and allowing films to be shot in space.

What do you think?

Do you support NASA branding rockets and space stations and allowing astronauts to endorse products? Is it a way for NASA to offset costs? Or is it “just not right”? Hit Take Action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / LaserLens)