We have liftoff. The newly enacted Texas Space Commission is up and away after Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan recently appointed the agency’s first nine-member crew, or board of directors.

State officials hope the commission, made up of some of the brightest aerospace minds on Earth, will help Texas scientists and businesses make significant advancements in space research, exploration and commercial travel. The governor’s ambitions extend to colonizing Mars.

The Texas flag flying on the red planet? That’s the dream. But the agency will be ineffective if it doesn’t remain above the political fray that plagues state politics and steer clear of potential conflicts of interest.

The 2023 state Legislature created the commission and its sister agency, the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium, to support and promote the state’s well-established aerospace research and industry ecosystem.

It also set aside $350 million to fund the work of the commission, $200 million of which will go to build a Texas A&M University-led research facility on vacant land adjacent to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The consortium’s nine-member executive committee, also recently appointed, will advise the commission on how to allocate the remaining $150 million in grants.

In addition to the Johnson Space Center, Texas is home to divisions of giants such as SpaceX, Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin, as well as manufacturing and research operations of thousands of smaller aerospace companies. The state is poised to be a big part of the expected $1 trillion global space industry by 2040, according to the think tank Texas 2036.

The commission’s board includes communications specialist Gwen Griffin; Kathy Lueders, the general manager of Starbase at SpaceX; John Shannon, vice president of Space Exploration Systems at Boeing Co.; Sarah Duggleby, co-founder of Venus Aerospace; Kirk Shireman, vice president of Lunar Exploration Campaigns at Lockheed Martin; Evan Loomis, co-founder of futuristic homebuilder ICON; Heather Wilson, president of the University of Texas at El Paso; Nancy Currie-Gregg, director of the Texas A&M Space Institute; and Brad Morrison, founder of Atlantis Industries.

Both the commission and consortium have lofty goals. But as with any politically appointed body, they can be vulnerable to the political games of favoritism and deal-making that taint the process. We’re glad to see that House Bill 3447, the enabling legislation authored by state Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, contains a section on conflicts of interest. It requires in part that any board member with a professional or financial interest in any entity seeking grant money must recuse himself or herself.

The commission and consortium also must publish regular reports, which will provide needed transparency to their activities. Both entities will be attached to the governor’s office. The commission will employ 10 people, according to legislative documents.

“Texas will be the launchpad for Mars,” Abbott declared at his announcement ceremony. We can dare to dream.

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