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Congress Tells NASA to Quit Researching Climate Change and Asteroid Retrieval

It could also just be a wacky idea that won't work.
A proposed render for how NASA might catch an asteroid.

NASA's pretty skilled at grabbing headlines, but even then, its plan to capture an asteroid and bring it back to Earth is a cut above. Sure, it offers potential for scoring some of those rare mineral that have got potential asteroid miners excited, and there's also the chance that learning to lasso an asteroid could ward off the apocalypse. It could also just be a wacky idea that won't work. Taking the latter view, the Republican-led House Science Committee has now put the kibosh on the Asteroid Retrieval Mission (ARM).

According to the committee, the $100 million NASA requested for ARM could be better spent elsewhere. It doesn't appear that the committee has a problem with the concept of researching asteroids so much as it felt the project was poorly explained. From a statement by Space Subcommittee Chair Steven Palazzo (R-MS):

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While the committee supports the Administration’s efforts to study Near Earth Objects, this proposal lacks in details, a justification or support from the NASA own advisory bodies. Because the mission appears to be a costly and complex distraction, this bill prohibits NASA from doing any work on the project and we will work with appropriators to ensure the agency complies with this directive.

While the Science Committee thinks catching an asteroid is a cockamamie idea, Committee Chair Lamar Smith thinks that tracking asteroids is of high importance. Following the Russian meteor strike in March, the committee held the first of a pair of meetings to find out just what the US is doing to prevent an asteroid from ruining our collective days.

“Examining and exploring ways to protect the Earth from asteroids and meteors is a priority for the American people and should be a priority for government," Lamar said in a release. "We were fortunate that the events of last month were simply an interesting coincidence rather than a catastrophe.  And this Committee will strive to continue to lead in this area.”

NASA requested a $17.7 billion budget for 2014, which was very slightly down on past years. According to Palazzo's statement, the Science Committee is returning a draft bill for $16.8 billion in funding. Major projects were approved, with $2.9 billion for the ongoing International Space Station mission, as well as development of the new Space Launch System ($1.77 billion) and Orion crew platform ($1.2 billion), which will take NASA into long-term human spaceflight. Also approved was $4.62 billion for the Science Mission Directorate, which includes the James Webb telescope, as well as $500 million for the cool Space Technology program.

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What takes a hit in the Science Committee's revised budget is NASA's work with climate research, whose funding will be diverted to focus on studying planets in the rest of the solar system. From Palazzo's statement:

Over the last five years the Earth Science program has grown by more than 40% at the expense of other critical missions within the Science Mission Directorate and elsewhere in NASA. There are 13 agencies throughout the federal government that currently fund over $2.5 billion in climate science research, but only one agency does space exploration and space science. This bill ensures a balanced portfolio of science mission programs by simply moderating the increases that Earth Science has received over the last 5 years.

Now, it's important to note that the House Science Committee is chaired by a climate skeptic, features creationists, and generally isn't very scientific. So, if you're wondering if NASA's Earth Science program, of which only part is dedicated to climate, is getting its budget cut because of politics, you're quite likely right, even if the decision is couched in a veil of pragmatism.

Sure, there are 13 agencies working on climate change, but NASA's role in monitoring the Earth's weather and climate patterns, as well as providing space and satellite support for agencies like the NOAA, are crucial. It's important for NASA to keep its eyes on space, and Phil Plait is excited about the committee pushing for extraplanetary research, but it's also important for the agency to continue its important Earth-facing projects, like IceBridge.

@derektmead