This guy thinks NASA should stick to its mission even though
he doesn't seem to know what that mission actually is.
Sen. Ted Cruz is obviously keen not to have data from NASA challenging the fossil fuel propagandists who continue to deny the reality of human-caused global warming. It was thus no surprise when the Texan made clear during a hearing of the Senate Space, Science, and Competitiveness Subcommittee Thursday that he is going to be a pain when it comes to the earth science part of the space agency's mission. As a consequence of the Republican takeover of the Senate, he is now the chairman of that committee. And he plans to
push for "more space, less earth" at NASA.
Marina Koren reports on an exchange between Cruz and NASA administrator Charles Bolden:
"I'd like to start by asking a general question," said Cruz on Thursday during a subcommittee hearing on the president's $18.5 billion budget request for NASA for fiscal 2016, which allocates considerable funding for Earth- and ocean-science projects. "In your judgment, what is the core mission of NASA?"
Bolden said he'd been contemplating that mission over the past few days, and had read over the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, which created the agency. "Our core mission from the very beginning has been to investigate, explore space and the Earth environment, and to help us make this place a better place," he said, adding that the study of aeronautics is important as well.
That didn't cut it with Cruz. He said the agency seems to be allocating its resources away from its core mission, which he seems to think should focus exclusively on space exploration. Bolden did not agree, however, pointing out that decreases in the exploration portion of NASA's budget have been undertaken because the agency is seeking to reduce the cost of putting humans into space. What really seems to irk Cruz is that NASA just last year added five new missions to study Earth's climate. And about 10 percent of its current budget goes to Earth science missions. Cruz sees this as an Obama administration perversion of what he believes NASA should be doing.
It's true that NASA was founded with no Earth science mandate. But that changed before Cruz was 15 years old. Congress revised the Space Act in 1976 and again in 1984, extending NASA's authority to “the expansion of human knowledge of the Earth.” Over the years since then, NASA has studied ozone depletion, climate, atmospheric chemistry, ocean temperatures and sea-level rise. Clearly part of its congressionally mandated mission. As Bolden told Cruz:
"We can't go anywhere if the Kennedy Space Center goes underwater and we don't know it—and that's understanding our environment," Bolden said, in a clear reference to global warming-related sea level rise.
Critics and supporters alike often take note of how very smart Ted Cruz supposedly is. If that's actually the case, he has to know that intelligently exploring other planets depends on having a solid understanding of our own. He must, therefore, have reasons other than being an ignoramus for denying global warming. Perhaps his claims that global warming is bogus have something to do with the $946,568 he's received in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry. Whatever the reasons, Bolden will no doubt have to put up with Cruz's needling for at least the next two years.
Sigh.