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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know - Continued On Page 7 NASA Appoints Indian American As Associate Administrator T he nation’s top space agency announced Septem- ber 3, 2025, it has selected exploration-focused Indian American as its Associate Administrator. Acting NASA Administrator Sean P. Duffy named Amit Kshatriya, a 20-year NASA veteran, to the agency’s top civil service role. Kshatriya was most recently the deputy in charge of the Moon to Mars Program in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) at NASA Headquarters inWashington, the press release from NASA said. In this role, Kshatriya was responsible for pro- gram planning and implementation for crewed missions to the Moon through the Artemis campaign in prepara- tion for humanity’s first mission to Mars. Kshatriya is one of only about 100 people in history to serve as a mission control flight director. Promoting Kshatriya to NASA’s top ranks puts Ameri- ca’s return to the Moon through Artemis at the very core of our agency, NASA said, adding that the move “exem- plifies President Donald J. Trump and Duffy’s serious- ness about returning Americans to the Moon and before China.” “Amit has spent more than two decades as a dedicated public servant at NASA, working to advance American leadership in space. Under his leadership, the agency will chart a bold vision to return to the Moon during President Trump’s term,” said Duffy. “Amit’s knowledge, integrity, and unwavering commitment to pioneering a new era of exploration make him uniquely qualified to lead our agency as associate administrator. With Amit we’ll continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible.” Kshatriya’s promotion also signals how the Trump Administration sees the commercial space sector as an American economic engine, the agency said. “By putting a proven leader at the top, NASA is set to partner even more closely with America’s booming space industry, grow the space economy, and ensure the future of explo- ration is built in the United States.” According to the biography given by NASA, Kshtriya began working at the space agency in 2003. During his career there, he has worked as a software engineer, robot- ics engineer, and spacecraft operator primarily focused on the robotic assembly of the International Space Sta- tion. From 2014 to 2017, he served as a space station flight director, where he led global teams in the operations and execution of the space station during all phases of flight. From 2017 to 2021, he became deputy, and then acting manager, of the ISS Vehicle Office, where he was respon- sible for sustaining engineering, logistics, and hardware programmanagement. In 2021, he was assigned to NASA Headquarters as an assistant deputy associate administrator for ESDMD, where he was an integral part of the team that returned a spacecraft designed to carry humans to the Moon during the Artemis I mission. Kshatriya holds a bachelor of science in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, and a master of arts in mathematics fromThe University of Texas at Austin. He was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin, but considers Katy, Texas, to be his hometown. A son of first-generation Indian immigrants to the United States, Kshatriya and his wife are parents to three children. Decorated with the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for actions as the lead flight director for the 50th expedition to the space station, Kshatriya also is the recipient of a Silver Snoopy, an award astronauts bestow for outstanding performance contributing to flight safety, for his actions as lead robotics officer for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Dragon demonstration mission to the orbiting laboratory. “He brings unparalleled operational and strategic ex- perience to NASA’s executive leadership team,” according to NASA. PHOTO:CourtesyNASA PHOTO:nasa.gov Amit Kshatriya Earth’s closest neighbor plays a pivotal role in the study of our planet and beyond. FDA’s Vinay Prasad Wants More Clinical Trials Into Whether People Should Get Multiple Respiratory Vaccines Together T he Food And Drug Administration Is Scrutiniz- ing The Common Practice Of Giving Coronavirus And Flu Shots Together, Signaling A Reversal Of Years Of Federal Guidance And A Broader Crack- down On Administering Multiple Vaccines At The Same Time. Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s top vaccine regulator, recently announced that his team will require new clinical trials before allowing pharmaceutical companies to claim that coadministering multiple respiratory virus vaccines is safe and effective – a plan that was dismissed by outside experts as unnecessary and potentially counterproduc- tive. The shift under Prasad, which he described as part of a new “evidence-based philosophy,” could have implica- tions that go beyond fall respiratory vaccination season and potentially reverse long-standing guidance that encourages Americans to get multiple vaccines at the same time. He wrote in a memo last week that FDA officials “can- not affirm” the safety and efficacy of administering mul- tiple vaccines for coronavirus, flu and other conditions such as RSV at the same time. In recent years, federal agencies embraced multiple shots in one visit as a way to increase protection against respiratory viruses with no serious downsides. Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the FDA will soon an- nounce a new framework on Prasad’s changes. Pfizer had been negotiating with FDA as it sought federal approval for its updated coronavirus shots, and Prasad’s new stance put millions of manufactured doses at risk, according to two people familiar with the mat- ter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail sensitive discussions. Pfizer last week issued a letter to physicians that withdrew its prescribing information for providers saying they could administer its coronavirus vaccine with other shots, noting that the language was not FDA-approved. The FDA’s memo does not prevent pharmacies and doctors from providing coronavirus and flu vaccines in the same visit, medical experts said. But they worried that the scrutiny and rhetoric coming from top medical By Dan Diamond, Rachel Roubein, Lena H. Sun By a StaffWriter PHOTO:FDA.GOV Vinay Prasad, FDA’s Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. News India Times (September 6, 2025 - September 12, 2025) September 12, 2025 6 US Affairs