NASA may not be able to continue all of its current science programmes and pull off some bold new missions under a shrinking budget, according to US politicians and scientists.
The White House requested $4.4 billion for the agency鈥檚 science programmes in 2009 鈥� $264.7 million less than the previous year.
On Thursday, at a hearing of the US House Committee on Science and Technology鈥檚 , members expressed concern about how NASA will accomplish its goals under the planned budget.
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鈥淣ASA is an organisation straining to do too much with too little,鈥� said ranking member .
At the hearing, subcommittee members questioned NASA officials about whether they鈥檒l be able to achieve ambitious 鈥榝lagship鈥� programmes such as a mission to moons of the outer solar system and a long-awaited Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission within the constraints of the science budget.
NASA鈥檚 high-profile , which currently has two trundling around the planet, is one of the areas that鈥檚 getting cut: by $918 million from 2009 until 2012.
Shrinking budget
NASA is planning more missions to Mars in 2013 and 2016, and intends to collaborate with international partners on the sample return mission, currently scheduled to be underway by 2020. But subcommittee members are worried that NASA won鈥檛 be able to fly all those missions given the programme鈥檚 shrinking budget.
, chief scientist of the Mars rover mission, told the committee the Mars programme has 鈥渂ig problems鈥�. The only way to keep the MSR mission on schedule is to not fly the earlier two missions, he said. Alternatively, to do all three, Squyres said the MSR mission would have to be delayed. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 an either or proposition,鈥� he said.
However , NASA鈥檚 associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, believes the missions can go ahead on schedule, although he said the earlier endeavours may have to be scaled back to leave enough money for the MSR mission.
But with the scramble to fund flagship missions like MSR, Feeney said they 鈥渟hould not be able to crowd out smaller but still scientifically significant missions鈥�.
鈥淚t鈥檚 robbing Peter to pay Paul,鈥� said committee chairman . 鈥淚鈥檓 very concerned that such an approach will not be sustainable or credible.鈥�
Climate change
Despite the tight budget, NASA is 鈥渋s doing well with what it has鈥�, , Chair of the Space Studies Board at the US , testified.
Stern said the good news is the 2009 budget puts more resources into research and analysis and into robotic missions to the Moon, and begins a $3 billion mission to the outer planets.
It will also increase NASA鈥檚 emphasis on earth science missions, which Berrien Moore III, co-chair of the NASA decadal survey for Earth sciences, says is crucial with the world facing 鈥渟ignificant environmental challenges鈥� such as water shortages, declines in fisheries and .
To help manage NASA鈥檚 budget, Stern says the agency is putting more emphasis on international collaboration and on having experienced principle investigators keeping programmes within budget and on time 鈥渟o overruns become rare instead of routine鈥�.
