THE NEW SPACE RACE: Sen. Mark Kelly was against the Artemis return to the moon before he was for it.

The Daily Beast reported in October 2020, shortly before Kelly won his first campaign for the Senate, that the former astronaut took a dim view of returning to the moon. He said, “We should just go straight to Mars. Forget about the Moon. We’ve been there. We’ve already done that.”

Kelly’s words echoed those of former President Barack Obama 10 and a half years before. At a speech at the Kennedy Space Center, Obama heaped scorn on the idea of returning to the moon. “Now, I understand that some believe that we should attempt a return to the surface of the Moon first, as previously planned. But I just have to say pretty bluntly here: We’ve been there before. Buzz has been there. There’s a lot more of space to explore and a lot more to learn when we do.“ Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin was in the audience at the time, serving as a political prop for Obama’s space policy that bypassed the moon.

Fast forward to Dec. 1, 2021. Kelly introduced Vice President Kamala Harris at her first meeting of the National Space Council. In his remarks, Kelly stated that he looked forward to the day when the first woman and the first person of color would walk on the moon as part of the Artemis III mission. He said that the event will inspire a new generation to follow science and technology education.

What changed to cause Kelly to alter his views on returning to the moon? The senator has not chosen to enlighten anyone, so assumptions have to be made.

“Project Artemis was President Donald Trump’s initiative,” as the story notes. I’d note that this kind of last-minute switcharoo is typical for a candidate who fears he might be in trouble.