Fun to host a true American explorer, Buzz Aldrin, at the @WhiteHouse as we work to shape the space policy of our administration.
QuoteFun to host a true American explorer, Buzz Aldrin, at the @WhiteHouse as we work to shape the space policy of our administration.https://twitter.com/vp/status/840301473611337728Is it too much to hope that the new administration is listening as well as hosting?
Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 03/11/2017 06:19 PMIs it too much to hope that the new administration is listening as well as hosting?Doubt it, didn't they just cut 1B from NASA's budget?
Is it too much to hope that the new administration is listening as well as hosting?
I guess we'll see how much Congress agrees or disagrees.
Well, Earth Sciences took a big hit, and there is no Senator Mikulski any more.
Quote from: Danderman on 03/17/2017 02:32 PMWell, Earth Sciences took a big hit, and there is no Senator Mikulski any more.5% is not big
Quote from: Jim on 03/17/2017 03:25 PMQuote from: Danderman on 03/17/2017 02:32 PMWell, Earth Sciences took a big hit, and there is no Senator Mikulski any more.5% is not bigYeah, count me as befuddled. Did everybody forget that just four months ago Bob Walker was going around talking about moving ALL NASA Earth science to NOAA? And there were Earth scientists crying into their beer over the impending demise of the entire program?And then it turns out... 5%. People are now pulling their hair out about the NASA education budget, and yet one report I saw indicated that the budget had been reduced by something like $65 million over six years by the previous administration. Also, it has not received glowing reviews in recent years. I think the education budget is a more complicated issue, because outreach and education is already handled in different parts of NASA. But I think we need some context and perspective here.
Ditto Jim and Blackstar. Small reduction compared to other programs and compared to the expected cuts.And The Verge reported that the education that was cut out was a duplication (or a partial duplication) at NASA.
Quote from: Kansan52 on 03/17/2017 10:01 PMDitto Jim and Blackstar. Small reduction compared to other programs and compared to the expected cuts.And The Verge reported that the education that was cut out was a duplication (or a partial duplication) at NASA.The education thing at NASA is complicated. Apparently the overall program is a mess and has been known as a mess for awhile. Plus, stuff that counts as "education" lives all over the place at NASA, in various offices, and that has been part of the agency's problem, because there is poor coordination. From what little I understand about it, the office that the administration wants to zero out administers a lot of grants and the thing about grants is that they get distributed all over the country. For example, the NASA Space Grant goes to all 50 states. That means 100 senators who may get a phone call about that program. So you can expect that there will be political opposition to killing this stuff.The reality is that the office probably needs to be reformed and get its act together. Things that are running smoothly and efficiently make harder targets.
However the Space Grants themselves and similar programs fund interns.
Most NASA civil servant workforce is over 50. Over 50! You know the average age of NASA engineers who sent astronauts to the Moon during Apollo? Just 28.With a federal hiring freeze, NASA desperately needs the young blood infusion of interns. And virtually every young person who gets hired by NASA goes through a NASA internship at some point.