"I am very much in the camp of 'Make Pluto A Planet Again', Isaacman told the members of the Senate Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies."
"We are doing some papers right now on a position that we would love to escalate through the scientific community to revisit this discussion and ensure that Clyde Tombaugh gets the credit he received once and rightfully deserves to receive again."
"To be classified as a planet, an object had to be in orbit around the Sun - check. It had to be nearly round under its own gravity - check. It had to clear the neighborhood around its orbit - nope ... so Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet."
"While scientific debate is to be commended, given that the budget request Isaacman was defending would cut NASA science spending by almost half, 'Make Pluto A Planet Again' seems a curious diversion for the limited resources that could be left within the agency."
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman expressed support for reclassifying Pluto as a planet during a Senate hearing. He stated that the agency is preparing papers to advocate for this change within the scientific community. Pluto was classified as a planet until 2006 when it was redefined as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union due to its inability to clear its orbital neighborhood. Isaacman's push for Pluto's reclassification raises questions about resource allocation amid significant budget cuts to NASA's science spending.
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