Bill Nye's Not the Only Scientist With Words for Washington

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By Amanda Wills2013-12-06 21:38:05 UTC

Bill Nye just became the unofficial spokesman for a group of planetary scientists who say space exploration and their careers are in danger.

Nye uploaded to YouTube an open letter to President Obama calling for an increase in funding for NASA's planetary science division, which is responsible for exploratory missions to other planets, including the Curiosity rover on Mars.

Nye's video debuts at the end of a tense week for planetary science. NASA on Tuesday announced a restructure that will change the way it selects which missions it will fund. Officials say it will help NASA pursue the "best of the best" projects. However, some planetary scientists are upset because they won't be able to apply for grants until 2015, leaving a possible year-long gap in funding in a battlefield of top talent.

But the real concern is part of a much larger issue looming over the agency.

See also: 1 Year on Mars: Relive Curiosity's Biggest Moments

"The elephant in the room is NASA's planetary science budget overall," says Matthew Tiscareno, a senior research associate at Cornell University. "Planetary science gets less than 10% [of NASA's budget], but it's a part of NASA that does more than any other to inspire the public. Planetary science gives the agency a lot of bang for its buck."

Some planetary scientists feel like the administration is targeting them specifically during a time of massive funding slashes. Over the past few years, Congress has proposed adding $309 million to the planetary science budget that the Office of Management and Budget has cut. There's a lot of back and forth and finger pointing in the community on who is to blame, but the fact is that planetary science is one of many victims falling prey to the monetary strain of Congress' failure to pass a true budget for years.

"We're going through tough financial times. We also have a $17 trillion debt, so the administration has to make priorities," NASA's Planetary Director Jim Green told Mashable. "I recognize planetary [science] is not a top priority. The community does, too."

Alyssa Rhoden, a postdoctoral program fellow at NASA Goddard, says the pressure is weighing heavily on the tight-knit community, especially for early-career scientists like herself whose up-in-the-air job prospects make for an unpredictable future.

"It's a very difficult situation," she said. "If funding does not go up, most will leave the field."

The cuts, Green says, put an even bigger priority on this week's restructure because planetary science will need to make the most of its money and fund the top missions. That notion isn't a new concept for research scientists; the field has always been, and always will be, fiercely competitive.

"We push the idea that the dedicated people are the ones who are worthy, and if you leave, you're not dedicated," Rhoden said. "No one wants to leave, because we'll feel like failures [...] The fact that I could leave over funding is tragic to me."

With big plans on a small budget — Obama has promised to put a human on Mars in the 2030s — the next few years for NASA will be about striking a balance between maintaining the high-profile missions already in progress and taking risks on new, groundbreaking endeavors.

For now, expect big-name personalities like Nye to continue making public pushes for the White House to increase funding in the sciences. However, Rhoden points out pushing space exploration isn't an issue that's decided in the voting booth every four years.

"Those are not the times the big decisions are being made about planetary science," said Rhoden. Calling your public official, she stresses, is the best way to help planetary science, which is why big-name personalities like Nye are making these public pushes.

"I was scared to contact Congress," she said. "Then I did it, and it wasn't that hard. I really felt like they heard me."

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Image: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Topics: Bill Nye, NASA, Barack Obama, Politics, Science, space, U.S., US & World