In this episode, Senior Fellow in Defense Studies Peter Garretson interviews Dr. Bhavya Lal, senior advisor to the NASA Administrator on Budget and Finance. They discuss NASA's Artemis Lunar Program, the Chinese Space Program and Commercial Sector, why the Moon and human presence is important, the promise of nuclear power and propulsion, and NASA's relevance to the Climate Change task force. They examine the soft-power implications of sustained presence and how leadership translates into benefits that accrue to the first-mover. They consider how NASA is fulfilling its charter to maximize commercial participation through investments in space commercialization, space industrialization, the scale of space resources, in-situ resource utilization and on-orbit servicing assembly and maintenance (OSAM), public-private-partnerships, and the role of government in building a vibrant commercial sector. They review whole-of-nation tie-ins to Artemis, including DOE, USGS, and cooperation memos with USSPACECOM and USSF. They cover the key technologies the US must advance for a spacefaring future of development and settlement. They examine NASA's role in planetary defense and resource mapping. They discuss NASA's charter to " to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space." They conclude with the actions necessary for America to sustain its leadership. Bhavya Lal: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/bhavya-lal-senior-advisor-for-budget-and-finance/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhavya-lal-520b45b/ Artemis: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/ CLPS: Commercial Lunar Payload System: https://www.nasa.gov/content/commercial-lunar-payload-services-overview Space Policy Directive 1: ‘‘Lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities. Beginning with missions beyond low-Earth orbit, the United States will lead the return of humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations; https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspm/spd-1.pdf NASA Charter: "(c) The Congress declares that the general welfare of the United States requires that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (as established by title II of this Act) seek and encourage, to the maximum extent possible, the fullest commercial use of space" AND "the United States is committed to maintaining world leadership in space transportation; making the Space Transportation System fully operational and cost effective in providing routine access to space will maximize the national economic benefits of the system" https://history.nasa.gov/spaceact-legishistory.pdf  China International Lunar Research Station: http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/n6465652/n6465653/c6812150/content.html NASA-USSF MOU:  https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/nasa_ussf_mou_21_sep_20.pdf