President Trump hasn't appointed anyone to lead NASA or even articulated his space policy, but he isn't ignoring it. This morning, Robert Lightfoot, the agency's acting administrator, announced the appointment of Greg Autry and Erik Noble as presidential liaisons. Both have backgrounds in the field, and Noble has even done some climate science.

Trump named Autry his White House liaison, a role NASA Watch editor Keith Cowing calls "traditional"—and Noble his White House senior advisor at NASA. That's less typical. "Does that mean he's at NASA, or is he just another liason?" Cowing says. "My guess is these guys are two peas in a pod." Which is to say, they'll probably work together to maintain open lines of communication between the space agency and the Oval Office.

In his inaugural address today, Trump promised to "unlock the mysteries of space," and has in the past suggested expanding NASA's partnerships with the private sector. He also has said he wants to reduce the agency's Earth science initiatives. He's less clear on Mars exploration—a big priority for the Obama administration—saying that he'd like to get the country's infrastructure in order first.

Typically, the White House liaison is a conduit between NASA and other executive agencies, like the Office of Budget and Management, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Security Council, and the myriad others you have to clear things with before hurling objects into space. But Autry and Noble's specific duties are unclear—because the liaison role typically reflects the president's priorities. "Each administration treats each appointee position differently," says Stephanie Schierholz, NASA press secretary. The Trump administration did not respond to request for comment.

Autry, in addition to serving on Trump's NASA-specific transition team, has been a professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business focusing on commercial spaceflight. He's also the coauthor of Death by China, an alarmist look at Sino-American trade relations. That suggests pro-Elon, anti-taikonaut views.

Noble is a veteran of the Trump campaign, in which he served as a data analyst. Before that, he was an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Center, doing climate and weather prediction modeling. Such a background would not seem to square with Trump's climate change denialism and clear disdain for government-funded climate research. "Having someone in this position with such a strong background in atmospheric science is a good thing," says Marco Tedesco, a polar geophysicist at Columbia University who worked with Noble. "Maybe he can open a dialogue about climate change. But still, he will have to do a lot of catch up because NASA is far broader than atmospheric science, far broader than the Earth."

Will these appointees help Trump on his mission to unlock the secrets of space? "Neither of these guys dropped out the sky," Cowing says. "They both know what NASA means, at least."