NASA says house authorization bill major obstacle for climate study

NASA – During a vote session on party lines, the Republicans in the House of Committee on Science, Space and Technology slashed the budget of NASA meant for its Earth science division. The authority cleared the budget for the funding for the Space Launch System and the Orion.

However, according to NASA, slashing the Earth science division budget can prove to be a major obstacle to the continuation of climate study.

The officials of NASA feel that the cut of more than $300 million can prove detrimental in furthering the studies on climate issues. That is why they have responded unfavorably to the congressional proposal. The Earth science division of NASA studies, natural systems and processes of the earth that together include climate change, severe weather conditions, and glaciers.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Science, Space and Technology Committee, Lamar Smith from The Republican party presented the proposal. According to Charles Bolden, Administrator NASA, the budget cut will definitely affect the generations of progress they have made in this field.

He further said that NASA has been trying to use the study material to prepare humankind to respond to droughts, earthquakes, and storm events.

The bill is also expected to underfund the space technologies, which is highly critical. Currently, the Earth science division budget of NASA is nearly $1.9 billion. Christine McEntee, American Geophysical Union’s executive director, has said that her organization is deeply concerned about the slashing in the budget.

The budget being presented will cover the expenses required for different projects by NASA for the financial year of 2016-2017.

Budget Favors Planetary Sciences

Earlier the Obama administration had shown favor towards this budget for NASA. The bill analysis, however, shows that although it is in line with the request of the Obama administration, the money will now be shifted from basic sciences to the exploration of human.

Similarly, the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule will receive a boost of millions of dollars, whereas the planetary sciences will also be granted around $150 million extra budget.