Has NASA Ceded Its Mission To Elon Musk?

This Fresh Air episode features an interview with Franklin Foer, a staff writer for The Atlantic, discussing his article "The Man Who Ate NASA." Foer details Elon Musk's growing influence over the U.S. space program through SpaceX, which now handles a significant majority of U.S. rocket launches. The conversation explores NASA's declining workforce and budget cuts under the Trump administration, the shift from public investment to private ambition in space exploration, and Musk's vision of colonizing Mars. Foer and host Tonya Mosley discuss the implications of this power shift, including the potential risks of relying heavily on a private entity like SpaceX for critical government functions and the philosophical differences between the Cold War space race and the current commercialized approach. The interview also touches on the dystopian aspects of Musk's vision for Mars and the potential for a future where space exploration is dominated by private interests. Finally, rock critic Ken Tucker commemorates the 50th anniversary of the release of George Clinton's album, Mothership Connection.