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Planetary News: Space Policy (2007)NASA Mars Program Threatened by Senate Funding BillBy Amir AlexanderJuly 3, 2007
A NASA budget proposal for fiscal year 2008 currently making its way through the U.S. Senate includes a dramatic cut of $30 million in funding for planetary science missions. It appears that the entire sum will be taken out of the Mars exploration budget, including $20 million from funds supporting the Mars Exploration Rovers. This could force NASA to shut down the Mars rovers at the end of the current fiscal year! The Senate bill proposes these severe cuts to the Mars program despite the fact that overall it provides for a substantial increase in NASA funding. If approved, the bill will allocate NASA a total of $17.46 billion, $1.2 billion more than the agency’s 2007 budget, and $150 million more than the administration’s request for 2008. The proposal was crafted by the Senate Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, and cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 28, 2007. The Planetary Society is gravely concerned with the implications of the cuts proposed in the Senate bill. Planetary exploration in general, and the Mars program in particular, have been the glory of the American space program, providing us with undreamt views of other worlds. In recent years the Mars program has given us two successful orbiters - Mars Odyssey and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, as well as the two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity which have exceeded the most optimistic projections of their designers many times over. “Cutting NASA’s most successful and popular program does not make sense” said Planetary Society Executive Director Louis Friedman. “We will work to prevent this bill from ever becoming law.” Did you like this article? Send
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