Why do you think NASA has changed its mission statement?

Question

NASA has made an alarming twist in its Planet-protecting Phrase from "to understand and protect our home planet" to "to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research". Opinion, please?

Answer 1

NASA has been sacrificing science missions since FY 2005. This is part of an ultimately fruitless attempt to fulfill the administration's manned exploration mandate without significant increase in funding for a few years. Part of the sacrifice has been in Earth Observing System programs.

This mission statement more accurately reflects NASA's priorities. My personal opinion is this whole "return to the Moon and on to Mars business" is a bait-n-switch to shrink NASA big time. It works like this:

Give NASA a new expensive long term mission without funding it. NASA is forced to shrink its science expenditures to try and accomplish the new mission. By the time it is evident that the new mission cannot be accomplished (I am guessing around 2012 to 2015) there has been a long term brain drain in the form of scientists leaving NASA and universities for want of funding (and probably going into commercial employment doing completely different kinds of work that simply uses similar skills.) These people are now unavailable to pick up where they left off. The critical mass required for NASA's space and astrophysical science missions is lost.

Congress and whomever is in the presidency is now faced with either fully funding the manned program (at probably 3-5 times the current projected cost) or killing it.

The manned program is likely killed (though this depends on who controls congress at that point), leaving only the skeletal budget for the remaining science programs. These monies are then allocated to NOAA (the EOS stuff) and NSF (the other space stuff). NASA goes POOF, and civilian government space expenditures drop from 16-20 billion/year to about 1.5 billion/year. "Shrinking government" mission accomplished.

The only hope is if China or someone else actually provides a credible threat of establishing a permanent or near permanent presence on the moon. That might stimulate the politcal will to full fund the manned program, at which point diverting a relatively small chunk of money to NASA science might revitalize those programs over time.

Answer 2

Probably because they realize how many comets and asteroids are out there, and realize that we need an integrated policy to avoid as many threats as possible externally as well as internally. Of course, if the electric sun model is correct, the sun could pretty much blow up any time (from too heavy an electric load being placed on it, basically causing a cosmic short circuit; kinda' scary when you think about it) and there's not much Nasa could do about it, even if they saw it coming...

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/electric+universe+concept

Answer 3

"To protect our home planet" sounds too military like, self-centeredish, and political. It's also unrealistic if you look at it logically and most people would be more supportive with the "pioneer the future in space exploration" motto.

Answer 4

NASA knows the earth cannot sustain exponential human population growth and is looking for other planets to populate the rich and famous to, say, Mars.

Answer 5

It's not alarming, it's cool. It's more an acknowledgement of their public image as explorers and researchers.

Answer 6

The aliens have finally contacted NASA.
And humans are doomed if they do not get off this planet.

Answer 7

times have changed, and not always for the better