The Fight For Space Exploration Resources
The first round of the expected fight between congressional supporters of NASA’s space exploration programs and the advocates of more terrestrially focused efforts was won easily by the earth science enthusiasts. But the upcoming rounds might get a bit tougher.
Cuts in manned space activities in the omnibus fiscal 2007 appropriations continuing resolution and recent complaints by leading Democrats about reduced funding for earth science and global warming research in President Bush’s fiscal 2008 budget have led manned space supporters to express their concerns about the fate of Bush’s 2004 “vision” for space exploration.
Those concerns appeared to be justified by the House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee’s approval of its $53.6 billion funding bill last week. Read more
