Day: May 18, 2025

NASA Watch published a letter from representatives of the agency’s advisory groups, including:

• Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group (ExMAG)
• Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG)
• Mapping and Planetary Spatial Infrastructure Team (MAPSIT)
• Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG)
• Mercury Exploration Assessment Group (MExAG)
• Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG)
• Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG)
• The Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VExAG)

The letter highlights the importance of science initiatives at NASA at a time when drastic budget cuts are being considered, and quotes Carl Sagan:

Cutting off fundamental, curiosity-driven science is like eating the seed corn. We may have a little more to eat next winter but what will we plant so we and our children will have enough to get through the winters to come?

It’s a much needed yet bold approach at this time when the White House is eliminating all opposition to its wild cuts and erratic attack on diversity. The White House is actively shutting down advisory committees through the federal government, including NASA.

We can only hope the public listens to the wiser voices from these advisory committees. Someday all of this will need to be rebuilt, including our space program, but for now we need to save as much as we can from random cuts from parties that do not seem to understand the important role of science in our economy and our future.