Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
may 2018
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space
NASA launches robotic explorer to Mars and GRACE-FO Earth-monitoring satellites
May 22,2018
On May 5, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched its first robotic explorer to conduct an in-depth study of the interior of Mars. InSight – short for “Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport” – is a stationary lander that will study the interior of Mars to better understand its formation approximately 4.5 billion years ago, as well at the planet’s evolution over time and present-day activity. Although previous missions to Mars have investigated the Red Planet’s surface features like canyons, volcanoes, rocks, and soil, InSight will use cutting-edge instruments to measure seismic activity, heat flow, and rotational characteristics precision tracking far below the surface.
Along with InSight, NASA launched two paired CubeSats – lower-cost, miniaturized satellites – which will be able to quickly transmit status information about InSight as it lands on Mars. This is the first test of the viability of CubeSat technology far away from Earth. If successful, the two mini-spacecraft, called Mars Cube One or MarCO, could offer a new kind of communication capability to Earth for future missions.
On May 22, NASA also launched an extension of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission. The GRACE Follow On (GRACE-FO) satellites will pick up where the original GRACE mission left off when it ended in 2017, providing an additional five years of data on water across the planet. The GRACE-FO mission will monitor changes in surface and underground water on Earth, including tracking changes in sea-level rise and ice sheets and glaciers.
Sources: National Aeronautics and Space Administration; New York Times; Space Policy Online.
House Appropriations Committee approves funding for NASA climate monitoring
May 17, 2018
In early-May, reports emerged that NASA canceled the Climate Monitoring Program (CMP). The $10 million program compiles climate data and observations of carbon sources and sinks to expand our knowledge of climate change in the short and long term. Through competitive research grants, the program has supported 65 projects since 2010, many of which have focused on the carbon sink potential of forests. Other projects included developing better monitoring techniques for greenhouse gases.
The fiscal year (FY) 2018 appropriations omnibus passed in March increased NASA’s budget, but failed to mention the CMP. In effort to preserve the program, on May 17, the House Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a manager’s amendment to report language of the Science Appropriations Act of 2019 (H.R. 5952) that would designate $10 million for a climate monitoring system. The funds directed for a Climate Monitoring program would including competitive grants to help develop the capabilities necessary for monitoring, reporting, and verification of biogeochemical processes to better understand the major factors driving short and long-term climate change. A week before the House consideration of H.R.5952, Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Appropriations requesting support for the CMP in the FY 2019 spending bill.
On the same day the House spending bill was approved, newly confirmed NASA Administrator James Bridenstine clarified his opinions on climate change at an agency town hall, acknowledging that the climate is changing and that humans are playing a major role in it. He further mentioned to NASA employees that he will protect climate research from future cuts. According to a Government Accountability Office report released in April 2018, climate funding increased by $4.4 billion from FY 2010 to FY 2017 across nineteen agencies. In FY 2017 alone, the government spent $13.2 billion on climate related programs.
Sources: E&E News; Library of Congress; Politico Pro; Science Magazine; U.S. Government Accountability Office; U.S. House of Representatives.