Along with leading diplomatic efforts to address the migrant influx at the border and voting rights, Vice President Kamala Harris is also the chair of the National Space Council. As part of the efforts to further raise awareness of climate change, Harris visited the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to look at the agency’s climate change studies.
Harris visited the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland last Friday to take a look at its climate studies. Harris toured the facility as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to raise awareness and combat the growing threat of climate change. NASA chief Bill Nelson also unveiled the first images from the Landsat-9 satellite, a joint mission of NASA and the US Geological Survey that launched back in September.
The vice president’s visit to the space agency follows US President Joe Biden and the congressional delegation’s attendance at the COP26 Climate Change Summit in Glasgow alongside other world leaders. During her visit, Harris also delivered some remarks to the agency’s employees, thanking them for their contributions to the country and also to the world.
“I truly believe space activity is climate action. Space activity is education. Space activity is also economic growth. It is also innovation and inspiration. And it is about our security and our strength,” said Harris in her remarks. “When it comes to our space activity, there is limitless potential…So, as we go forth from here, let us continue to seize the opportunity of space.”
Harris and Nelson also discussed the agency’s announcement of the new Earth Venture Mission-3, with the Investigation of Convective Updrafts set to study how tropical storms and thunderstorms develop and grow in order to improve weather and climate models.
In other related news, Harris has arrived in Paris for her four-day visit in the hopes of further mending relations between the US and France following the recent alliance made by the US, the UK, and Australia. The vice president started her visit by touring the Pasteur Institute and meeting with its American and French scientists that are working on COVID-19 preparedness in the country.
Harris said that her visit to the institute highlighted the two countries’ determination to tackle global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.