Ted Cruz Distorts NASA's Mission, Budget

a reply to: Metallicus

See, this sounds like the sort of thing that someone who has no concept of cross discipline data sharing, or its value to scientific research, would say.

Oceanographers and engineers have interests in common. Take the humble cuttlefish for example. It is of interest to oceanographers and biologists, because of its unique characteristics in terms of its having the largest brain to body weight ratio of any invertebrate, and of course that fantastic camouflage ability it has. The camouflage capacity has also seen engineers and materials science take an interest in the critter, because understanding how its ability works, will mean future technologies which allow that adaptation to be applied to various objects, for various reasons, and by no means just the obvious, military potential such a technology would represent.

I am no scientist, but even I can understand why the exploration of other planets requires a fundamental and comprehensive understanding of our own.

en.m.wikipedia.org...

The link above contains details of the GRACE mission, operated by NASA and German space interests, and being run out of the JPL. Read the details of the mission, and tell me again that climate research has no value for space exploration! Of course, you cannot, assuming you have understood the import of this mission. The tech on board this machine, literally senses alterations in gravity over a given region of the planet. I am sure I need not explain why learning how to do that for our own planet, is vital if we are to one day propose to do the same for another.

a reply to: ATF1886

I'm not surprised. Black is now white,rich is now poor,up is down,backwards is forward.You get the idea. Nothing with our government makes any sense anymore.

Our education system is a shambles.
They are trying to cut benefits to those that are disabled.
Our Vets come home to nothing and have long waits to get treatment.
And we watch our tax dollars get eaten up going to other countries for things we don't even want to support.
We own NATO and are insistent on keeping it viable no matter the cost.
We can't even get our rockets to work,we have to have the Russians send us up to ISS.
We lost half a billion dollars of weapons in Yemen but we are trying for another war.


www.washingtonpost.com...
in-counterterrorism-aid-given-to-yemen/2015/03/17/f4ca25ce-cbf9-11e4-8a46-b1dc9be5a8ff_story.html

Seriously,nothing makes sense in our country.

I agree with you and understand that things have been way off for a long time it seems things are degrading more and more every day a reply to: Dimithae

You Brits already have the climate change studies covered, don't you? I can see how it would be useful to piggy back some of the climate research with existing NASA missions, but I don't think it should be a major part of what NASA does. I would much rather us go back to the moon or something cool.

a reply to: Metallicus

Um... What?

Look, this is not about which side of the ocean I happen to live on. This is about science, and science being done on other planets, requires that we understand how to do it here, and understand its results well enough that to do it elsewhere provides valuable, useable data.

Let's assume that the future of humanity has something to do with travel amongst the planets, if not the stars. Gaining experience in climate dynamics, and learning how to ascertain the mass and gravity of a given region of a planet, will be vital in the early times of colonisation of other worlds. Therefore, it makes sense to get as much practice as possible before even landing a human crew on another world. Some will say that such efforts were not gone to in preparation for the moon landings, but I would argue to the contrary, that every effort was made to prepare the ground, as it were, to learn as much as possible before those brave chaps were sent hurtling through space to their date with destiny.

I respect the hell out of those fellows, and know that the knackers on the pair of them must have been about the size of Texas to do what they did. However, balls aside, modern space exploration should not be done with the attitude that if it was alright for Aldrin, then it's alright for the next lot. There is enough that we cannot account for in a long distance mission to another planet, even with all our sophistry, that to skimp on pre-planning and devising better ways to understand the physical principles governing at least this one planet beneath our feet before hand, would be irresponsible at best.

And another thing, for clarities sake...My particular belief is that it matters not one whit whether climate change such as we are seeing these days is naturally occurring, or an unforeseen consequence of the ignorance with which we ploughed ahead into the industrial period. I have no dog in this fight, since whether man made, or nature born, the crucial thing is learning to survive in a changing world, not arguing over who burned what, when.

NASA is due for an overhaul. They have been compromised.

I am with Cruise on this one. That last Jack Reacher movie was awesome by the way.

originally posted by: buster2010
I'm confused as to who is the bigger idiot Cruz or the people who put him on the Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness? He has no place being anywhere near the funding of NASA.

those people and let's not forget, the true dumbasses that voted for him....by the way, am I being a true liberal elitist when I say, I feel so much smarter than those people.....ok, I plead guilty as charged and proud of it.

I swear Ted Cruz is a DNC plant. No way this guy is this stupid. Maybe NASA can do some paint by numbers to explain science to people in the dark ages.

originally posted by: links234
a reply to: Metallicus

If not NASA, then who should use satellites to research climate science?

Climate change is real and understanding the how's and why's are integral to understanding what we, as a species, need to do to either combat it or accommodate to it.

EPA? Seems logical they use their budget for this.

originally posted by: Xeven

originally posted by: links234
a reply to: Metallicus

If not NASA, then who should use satellites to research climate science?

Climate change is real and understanding the how's and why's are integral to understanding what we, as a species, need to do to either combat it or accommodate to it.

EPA? Seems logical they use their budget for this.

what budget?.....the republicans have forced it to be slashed for 5 years in a row...
www.foreffectivegov.org...

the don't give a damn about your health or anyone elses here in America....the republican budget came out and is slashing every program that keeps corporations from screwing the poor and middle class...don't listen to what they say, see the actual legislation that they have either enacted or proposed....they won't even raise the federal minimum wage, even though Walmart has raised theirs.....WALMART!...the republicans in congress have a worse F U attitude than Walmart as it pertains to the American worker

originally posted by: jimmyx

originally posted by: Xeven

originally posted by: links234
a reply to: Metallicus

If not NASA, then who should use satellites to research climate science?

Climate change is real and understanding the how's and why's are integral to understanding what we, as a species, need to do to either combat it or accommodate to it.

EPA? Seems logical they use their budget for this.

what budget?.....the republicans have forced it to be slashed for 5 years in a row...
www.foreffectivegov.org...

the don't give a damn about your health or anyone elses here in America....the republican budget came out and is slashing every program that keeps corporations from screwing the poor and middle class...don't listen to what they say, see the actual legislation that they have either enacted or proposed....they won't even raise the federal minimum wage, even though Walmart has raised theirs.....WALMART!...the republicans in congress have a worse F U attitude than Walmart as it pertains to the American worker

hey I dont like the republicans either but I support them simply for the fact that they piss off liberal nut-jobs. i will do it again.

originally posted by: Metallicus
NASA should concentrate on space exploration and get out of the business of climate research. I want to know what is going on beyond our planet and see us advance in manned flights. Climate change research is a waste of NASA's budget.

NASA is NOT just about space!!

National AERONAUTICS and Space Administration.

The climate and its effects on atmospheric conditions is quite important to AERONAUTICS!

One of the roles for NASA given in the Act is:

The expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere and space;

a reply to: Aloysius the Gaul

I cant believe it took this long for someone to even mention this. Without understanding about our planet how do meaningful science on other planets?

NASA does alot of aerospace research into better propulsion, aerodynamics, and other systems. Said research benefits the defence industry as well as the civilian industry. So a republican doing this might just mean he wants to shift research money over to the private side. Shifting from government to private has been a pretty standard thing for republicans.

Cruz, a potential 2016 presidential candidate who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness

I suspect his seat was bought and paid for by his corporate sponsors.

I also suspect he won't be sitting in the seat for much longer if he continues to reveal his science-challenged disabilities... corporate sponsors be damned.