Science Eviscerated In NASA Budget, Planetary Society call to action Options

[elakdawalla]

The Planetary Society has issued a call to action, for people to contact House Science Committee Chairman Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) to demand that NASA not cut their 2006 spending on science priorities like Europa before their 2007 budget has even taken effect; and to demand that they reconsider their priorities in the 2007 budget. Go to our Space Advocacy page for more on how to participate in this campaign. Please participate!

--Emily

[ljk4-1]

NASA Lacks Resources Needed to Sustain Vigorous Science Program

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.nl.html?pid=19764

"NASA does not have the resources necessary to maintain a vigorous science
program, complete the International Space Station, and return humans to the
moon, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies'
National Research Council.

"There is a mismatch between what NASA has been assigned to do and the
resources with which it has been provided," said Lennard A. Fisk, chair of the
committee that wrote the report."

[PhilHorzempa]

NASA Lacks Resources Needed to Sustain Vigorous Science Program

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.nl.html?pid=19764

"NASA does not have the resources necessary to maintain a vigorous science
program, complete the International Space Station, and return humans to the
moon, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies'
National Research Council.

"There is a mismatch between what NASA has been assigned to do and the
resources with which it has been provided," said Lennard A. Fisk, chair of the
committee that wrote the report."

The latest word on NASA's FY07 budget is that Congress probably will not save them
by adding $1 b to its budget. See details in this article.

http://space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_060515.html


How do the members of the UMSF community feel about this situation now that
a "rescue" of NASA's budget does not appear likely this year?

I feel that, since Bush has obviously withdrawn his support from the VSE, the Congress
should restore about $500 M to NASA's Space Science programs. The funds should
be taken from the VSE. If Bush were serious about returning people to the Moon and then
going to Mars, then his adminstration would obviously have given NASA sufficient
funds. They, just as obviously, did not.

Therefore, I urge Congress to restore the balance in NASA funding and allow
NASA's program of unmanned explorers to continue to return exciting results.
In particular, the Europa Explorer project needs to be started THIS year, as
Congress earlier directed. I was shocked to learn recently that not only is
NASA planning to delay the Europa Explorer (Orbiter/Lander) this coming year,
it is not contemplating starting the Europa project until AFTER the next 5-year
budget cycle!

I do not object to continuing the VSE. However, it should only proceed as fast
as manned spaceflight funding allows. Congress should not allow NASA to
accelerate the VSE by stealing funds from unmanned space. By enabling NASA's
attempt at this theft, the Congress will be agreeing to NASA's plan to delay
unmanned science programs for years, if not decades. I want to see landers
on Europa and Titan and Enceladus in the near future.

Also, if Congress allows Griffin to declare a manned spaceflight 'emergency' to
justify draining funds from Space Science, then NASA will be tempted to pull this
same trick in the future. Are we to believe that the CEV, the CLV, the CaLV, and
the LSAM will not overrun thier budgets?

When (not if) they do, we can all imagine a future NASA Administrator telling
Congress that he simply MUST take funds from unmanned Space Science again.
NASA now spends most of its funds on manned spaceflight. Unless the President
adds more money to the manned portion of NASA's budget, that sector
should learn to live within its budget.


Another Phil