President Joe Biden on Friday introduced that he plans to appoint former Sen. Invoice Nelson of Florida to guide NASA. Nelson, a Democrat, represented Orlando and Florida's House Coast within the Home earlier than successful a Senate seat in 2001. He served three phrases earlier than being unseated by then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott in 2018.Nelson additionally has the distinctive expertise of getting spent six days in orbit on the house shuttle Columbia in 1986. "Nelson performed 12 medical experiments together with the primary American stress check in house and a most cancers analysis experiment sponsored by college researchers," the White Home stated in an announcement. "Within the Senate he was referred to as the go-to senator for our nation's house program."The previous senator is poised to take the helm of the company throughout a difficult time. Whereas NASA has seen a number of successes in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, together with the touchdown of a Mars rover, the company has pledged to land the primary girl and the subsequent man on the moon in 2024. The company additionally has the long-term purpose of sending people to Mars. Nelson may need a neater time gaining bipartisan assist in Congress than a few of Biden's different picks. Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio on Thursday praised the potential transfer, tweeting: "Invoice Nelson can be a wonderful choose to guide @NASA."