(Reposted from August 13, 2011)

There’s an interesting discussion brewing in NASA’s HQ and around its centers concerning the concept of “indefinite loans” by NASA of aircraft and artifacts for public display.

On the one hand, Logistics Management cites NASA aircraft policy, Federal Property management regulations and NASA regulation 4300.1. They point out that items are supposed to be disposed of when no longer needed operationally. Also, if an item on the books is on indefinite or long-term loan, NASA must not have an operational need for it.

On the other side of the aisle is Public Outreach and center exhibits managers, who cite the Space Act of 1958 and NASA regulation 1387.1. NASA communicators point out the legitimacy of informing the public as one of NASA’s four charted missions. Their position is that long-term and even indefinite loans support their mission and therefore these loaned items still serve an operational purpose.

Although it is truly a tempest in a teapot when we’re wrestling with so many larger issues these days, it does come down to a basic, age-old question: “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it actually fall?”

In other words, if a space mission happened and no one heard about it or learned from it, by how much is the feat diminished? If the answer is “lots,” one could argue that education and public outreach and NASA’s public affairs and communication functions are key NASA operations in their own right and the tools they use (such as static aircraft and artifact loans) have legitimate operational uses, too.