As US President Joe Biden assumed office on Wednesday, American space agency NASA’s chief Jim Bridenstine has officially stepped down from his role as the administrator. As per reports, Biden is expected to pick a woman the fill the role, which has been occupied by men since the agency’s founding in 1958.
“It has been my great honour to serve as your @NASA Administrator. I will miss the amazing NASA family and will forever be grateful for my time at this incredible agency. Ad astra,” Bridenstine said in a tweet on Wednesday.
Bridenstine, a Republican who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, spent his final days as the NASA chief making the last push for ambitious Artemis programme, that will land the first woman and next man on the lunar surface by 2024.
“We have done everything we can to build the consensus necessary for this program to be long-term sustainable,” Bridenstine told The Verge.
“I think as hard as we’ve worked to build the consensus over…