Vanessa Wyche, Director, Johnson Space Center

In an interview with Invest:, Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, discussed Houston’s role in the expanding space economy, the importance of partnerships, and the talent needed to support the next era of human spaceflight. “We see it as a great thing for there to be more people that want to invest and be a part of space exploration,” Wyche said.

How is the growth of commercial space changing the role of Johnson Space Center?

Across Texas and the United States, we have seen an increase in the number of companies, entrepreneurs, and investors going into space. Commercial space is one way to describe it, but I also think about it more broadly as industry and private-sector investment in space exploration.

Johnson Space Center is a government institution with responsibilities tied to enabling the assets needed for human spaceflight, including our astronauts. Human spaceflight is our primary goal, but we are also part of NASA’s broader Artemis missions and portfolio, as well as the work we continue to do in low Earth orbit.

Our national space policy calls for an increased cadence of missions to the surface of the moon, building a moon base, and continuing to have astronauts in low Earth orbit. To do all of those things, we need a robust government sector, a robust commercial sector, and strong partnerships with the international community. Johnson Space Center is at the intersection of all three.

We use commercial providers to send astronauts to space, while also providing our own spacecraft. The International Space Station elements provided by NASA are government-owned. For Artemis, Orion was built by Lockheed Martin, government-funded, and remains a government vehicle. The European Space Agency also provided propulsion elements that were part of Orion and supported deep space exploration.

As we want to do more, we welcome and encourage more growth. We see it as a great thing for there to be more people who want to invest and be a part of space exploration so that, together, we can go further into deep space and the solar system, especially with humans.

What makes Houston a strong location for this work, and how is the region evolving as Space City?

Houston has the heritage of being Space City because of what we did with Apollo and Shuttle, what we continue to do with the International Space Station, and what we are now doing with Artemis. We have the expertise to support that work, but Houston is also an incredibly international city.

As we add more international partners to what we are doing in low Earth orbit, with follow-on space stations, and with Artemis, Houston is well positioned. The Artemis Accords include countries around the world that have signed on to be part of the future of space exploration. Houston’s international character and airport access make it easier for people to come together, collaborate, and bring these missions to fruition.

The state of Texas has also been instrumental in encouraging others to come here. The Texas Space Commission has been stood up, and since then, the state has invested in a facility right outside Johnson Space Center called the Space Institute, which Texas A&M is running.

That facility will include a moonscape and a Marscape, each about the size of a football field. It will allow industry, academia, government, civil space, and military space to collaborate on activities we will need away from home, while practicing them right here in our backyard.

What lessons from recent Artemis missions are shaping the next phase of planning?

On the most recent Artemis mission, we put astronauts onboard to test environmental systems and make sure astronauts could live in the spacecraft. We had tested the spacecraft uncrewed in 2022, but putting astronauts onboard allowed us to learn more about the interaction between the spacecraft and humans. That is one of our main focuses as we learn how to use the vehicle for more missions.

We are still in a developmental phase. On the next mission, our intent is to test the human landing system, which will be the lander used to reach the surface of the moon. We need to make sure we can operate the systems together.

We have tested the spacecraft, and it works well. The next step is understanding how the landing system works with it. How will we rendezvous? How will we dock? How will astronauts transfer safely? The following mission would involve astronauts getting into the lander and landing on the surface of the moon.

We learned a lot about the steps of transportation, going to the moon, going past the moon, going farther than we have gone before, and coming back safely. Before we put boots on the moon, we need to test the connection between the spacecraft that carries humans there and back and the vehicle they will transfer into to land on the surface.

Why are partnerships especially important now, and where do you see opportunities in the market?

Partnerships are greatly needed because these are big, ambitious goals. Achieving them will take the private sector and other parts of the public sector, providing key elements.

NASA has invested in transportation, landers, and the spacesuits needed to walk on the moon. But as we build out a moon base, think about all the infrastructure that will be needed: power, data, and many other capabilities. There is a tremendous opportunity for others to come in and invest.

Some people are looking at mining on the moon and exploring rare elements that may be there. There are many opportunities for people to come up with ideas and become part of laying out that infrastructure or supporting activities such as mining.

To reach that point, it will take investment from more than just the government. It will require a broader ecosystem of partners willing to help build the capabilities that make sustained exploration possible.

How is the local talent pipeline supporting NASA’s needs, and which skills are becoming more important?

Houston and Texas are fortunate to have strong engineering schools and strong programs in science, astrophysics, and other fields. We have a good talent pool to draw from for planning missions, executing missions, building spacecraft, and creating the infrastructure we need.

We also need to encourage more people to continue going into those areas of study so we can maintain that pipeline. University systems are working together to identify gaps and encourage growth in those areas.

Engineering will continue to be critical, whether that is aerospace engineering, space architecture, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering. The fundamentals are still what we need.

We will also need technicians, welders, electricians, and people who can turn the wrenches. As we build more things to put into space, we also need more infrastructure on the ground. SpaceX in South Texas has expanded its footprint because it needs to do more testing. Firefly in Austin is growing its plant because it needs to test more engines and build more rockets and capabilities.

To support that growth, we need students pursuing technical degrees through community college systems, as well as higher education. That is how we build the workforce of tomorrow.

Looking ahead, what are your top priorities and overall outlook for the space industry?

The space industry has a lot of momentum right now. There are significant investments coming into commercial space, and we are leveraging technology across civil space, military space, and national security. The core technologies we can use across those areas are allowing us to do more.

As investments come in to support satellites, data centers, and other capabilities, those investments will also help enable what we want to do in civil space, human exploration, and deep space exploration.

My priorities at the center are focused on building partnerships and supporting collaboration across those domains. That includes partnerships with industry and enabling the use of our facilities. Johnson Space Center has large human-rated chambers that are rare and would cost millions of dollars to recreate. We also have large thermal vacuum chambers that can mimic the environment of deep space. We can use those for NASA missions, and commercial companies can also use them for their own work.

Another priority is partnering with the international community. A country may not have all the resources to build a spacecraft for humans, but it may be able to build a smaller experiment and send it to space to study the environment or something that affects that country. That can be an entry point into space. Over time, that country can build its role and may eventually want to provide a human spacecraft.

We also have to continue ensuring safe human spaceflight, both in low Earth orbit with the International Space Station and as we conduct more missions to the moon. Our astronauts must be trained, the spacecraft must be safe, and we must complete as much ground testing as possible to mitigate risk.

Successful missions are what allow us to continue advancing human spaceflight. We have to be successful so that others will want to be part of it as well.