Last week, The Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye accepted an invitation by NASA Administrator nominee Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) to join him as his guest at the State of the Union (SOTU) address. We anticipated this would be a controversial decision, and we were right.

This post incorporates some of the discussion I've had with Planetary Society members (and many non-members) who wrote to express their concern or support about this decision. I've greatly appreciated the feedback we've had from our members, they hold us accountable to our decisions and challenge us to think through and consider our actions. This is the sign of a healthy, active membership, and it is one of the great benefits of being here at The Planetary Society.

So right up front, I want to restate the fact that attending the SOTU as Bridenstine's guest does not mean that either Bill Nye or The Planetary Society is endorsing his nomination. The Society does not make endorsements for NASA Administrator nominees—we are committed to working with whomever serves in that position.

Bill will also spend the day before the SOTU meeting with Senators and Representatives from both sides of the aisle to talk about important space, science, and exploration issues. Our Washington, D.C.-based policy team will join him at these meetings as well.