Rockets as billboards? That might soon be a reality. Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that NASA Administrator Jim Birdenstine had directed the agency to consider selling naming rights to rockets and spacecraft and allowing its astronauts to appear in commercials and on cereal boxes.

Although trading the glimmering white that has characterized space exploration for advertisements might rub some the wrong way, there is a real opportunity to lessen the burden on taxpayers while still ensuring that the United States has a robust space program.