--- title: "Former NASA Scientist Slams Kamala Harris Meeting as “Photo Op”" description: "A former NASA scientist is once again throwing shade on his former employer for its bizarre National Space Council \"photo ops.\"" date: "2022-09-09" modified: "2022-09-09" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/former-nasa-scientist-national-space-council" categories: - "Future Society" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "biden administration" - "kamala harris" - "NASA" - "national space council" - "politics" - "the digest" --- # Former NASA Scientist Slams Kamala Harris Meeting as “Photo Op” ![A former NASA scientist is once again throwing shade on his former employer for its bizarre National Space Council "photo ops."]() *\Image: Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images\* ## Space Cancelled A former NASA scientist-turned-vocal critic of the space agency is once again throwing shade on his erstwhile employer — this time for creating a council whose sole purpose, he suggests, is to provide "photo ops." That former NASA employee, Keith Cowing, [noted in a recent *NASA Watch* post]() that the White House's notice about White House National Space Council (NSC), set to take place today with Vice President Kamala Harris touring the Johnson Space Center facilities, was heavy on imagery but very light on details. "Nothing but crickets since then," Cowing wrote in the post, which he titled "National Space Council Meetings Are Simply Photo Ops." "Absolutely no public information as to what the VP and the people at this meeting will actually do," he continued, "and no one seems to care." ## What's Going On As the [former NASA boffin]() noted, there has so far been bupkis released about the forthcoming Space Council meeting on any of the government sites where such details should be posted, nor on NASA TV. In spite of this striking lack of specifics, however, "invitations are being sent out to people of influence and some media celebrities to attend." "How is it that the National Space Council actually *does* anything?" Cowing wrote. "The public has no clue whatsoever as to what is going on." As Cowing noted [in previous blog posts](), the [NSC has been plagued with a lack of transparency]() and a pervasive sense of purposelessness during Joe Biden's presidential term. "Either they do not know and/or do not care if the rest of us know what is going on \[with regards to\] space policy," [Cowing tweeted](). Unfortunately, it looks like he's right. **READ MORE:** [National Space Council Meetings Are Simply Photo Ops]() \[*NASA Watch*\] **More NASA fails:** [*NASA Announces Plan to Fix Moon Rocket, and Maybe Launch It Eventually*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()