Right now, NASA is facing some serious budget problems, which has led Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society, to flatly accuse the White House of trying to kill NASA's planetary science program in an editorial published in the Washington Times. Zubrin's key tenant: there are only 2 more missions left in NASA planning before the plug is pulled due to budget constraints. Another suspected casualty: NASA's space astronomy program.
So, could this be true?
Well, in thinking logically about these claims, one must first consider that the source of the information itself is unsubstantiated. In his piece, Zubrin refers only to a 'leaked' information, no origin being named. That in itself is, for many, cause for doubt in itself. Yes, when dealing with secret information that is intended to be kept away from the public, keeping sources' identities secret is common but, on the other hand, certain 'leaks' have been proven to be nothing but hot air many, many times in the past.
Another interesting point: according to Universe Today, Zubrin has used such op-ed pieces, namely highly controversial ones, in order to get his name out to the press to promote certain events that he is involved with. In a way, this is akin to the common celebrity 'wisdom' that any publicity is good publicity.
Third, the very idea that NASA is going to only launch 2 more missions to other planets and then, to boot, shut off a whole host of science missions is, in itself, a rather extraordinary claim. Yes, the government is cash-strapped but, when it comes down to the federal budget, NASA takes up less than 1% of total spending, a true drop in the bucket of Federal dollars. To put things numerically, NASA's current budget is about $18.45 billion while the total federal government budget for 2011 is around $3.69 trillion. Obviously, even cutting out NASA completely would not do much at all to balance the budget, which is over $1.3 trillion for 2011 alone.
In the end, what the world has in Zubrin's op-ed is a rather frightening (for space enthusiasts) idea but one that, under closer examination, is highly unlikely to be reality.
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