Former astronaut John Grunsfeld is to take over NASA’s science post from Ed Weiler

Excellent choice: Former astronaut John Grunsfeld has been picked to take over NASA’s chief science post from Ed Weiler.

Not only is Grunsfeld an excellent choice, his experience as an astronaut repairing Hubble will help improve relations between the science and manned space programs. In the past, scientists have often argued against manned space, trying to get that money for their unmanned research probes. Instead, when manned space got cut, so did science, and no one won. Grunsfeld’s leadership I think will forestall these short-sighted complaints.