NASA administrator, Space Force General, talk Artemis and Golden Dome during UND visit

Pair praises UND, Grand Forks region’s commitment to innovation and educating next generation of leaders during campus visit

Last week, one of the nation’s top space executives visited campus for a firsthand look into the University’s ongoing work and scholarship supporting his agency’s mission.

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, UND welcomed Jared Isaacman, who has served since December 2025 as NASA’s 15th administrator. Isaacman was accompanied by U.S. Sen. John Hoeven and U.S. Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, who oversees the implementation of the nation’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative.

The trio toured several sights critical to UND’s groundbreaking work in space, national security and unmanned aircraft systems, including the Human Spaceflight Laboratory and Lunar Mars Habitat.

Following their tour, Hoeven, Isaacman and Guetlein joined UND administrators and faculty members for a luncheon, where the group discussed UND’s role in space and securing the homeland.

Guetlein said universities such as UND play a vital role not only in educating the next generation of space and defense leaders, but also developing the artificial intelligence infrastructure needed to support NASA and the Space Force’s mission.

“You guys are innovating so fast when it comes to AI, if I tried to build what existed today, by the time I built it, you’d be generations ahead,” he said. “The question is, how do I build an ecosystem where I can rapidly take advantage of what you’re doing?”

“The space race is very real,” Isaacman added. “In order to compete again, we have to be extremely focused, and draw from the best and brightest across the nation. UND is going to be no exception in that regard. We’re going to need that talent in space, robotics, UAS – all the areas that get us closer to where we need to be in this competition.”

The trio’s visit concluded with a question-and-answer session for students at the Memorial Union.

Hoeven said the partnerships in the region between academia, industry and defense create a myriad of opportunities for students to pursue a career in the field. Speaking earlier that morning at the 20th annual UAS Summit & Expo, he announced Project Atlas – a collaborative effort between UND, the Department of Defense and the North Dakota National Guard – to integrate the capabilities of unmanned ground vehicles and aerial systems.

“The ecosystem we’ve built here in Grand Forks is like no other in the country,” Hoeven said. “You’re in the right place at the right time – you’re young, smart, ambitious and want to get ahead. This is the place that offers the opportunity in the classroom and in the industry.”

Isaacman outlined the timeline and importance of NASA’s Artemis mission, which seeks to put humans on the moon by the summer of 2028 and establish a lunar base.

“I think it’s the greatest adventure in human history,” he said. “After a 53-year intermission, we are back in the business of sending astronauts to a lunar environment and bringing them home safely.”

“Our main objective, however, is to interact with the water and ice at the lunar south pole to master the skills for where we build next, which is Mars,” Isaacman continued. “In line with that, our national space policy calls for making investments in that next giant leap capability of finally getting America underway on nuclear power in space.”

Speaking on the Golden Dome, Guetlein said the defense and space community’s work on the project compliments each other well and will provide strategic deterrence against “the two biggest kids on the block,” alluding to Russia and China.

“We’ve been relying on the oceans to keep us safe for generations, because we didn’t think they could come across and do us harm,” he said. “That tyranny of distance has been whittled away, and they can now reach out and touch us. What the president has asked Golden Dome to do is rapidly change that equation – protect what we have and deter aggression before it happens.”

During media availability following the Q&A, Isaacman added that the contributions of the U.S.’ allies – particularly the 22 nations representing the European Space Agency – are vital. He also highlighted the 77 signatories of the Artemis Accords, a 2020 agreement seeking to enhance the governance of civil space exploration and further the U.S.’ lunar mission.

“I’ve often said that at NASA, we undertake and achieve the near impossible, and we never go at it alone,” Isaacman said. “We have the European Service Module that’s on the Space Launch System. The message that we’ve given is that, given the reality of the space race, the contributions needed are those that help accelerate the mission outcomes. The international community is responding incredibly well.”