The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is a U.S. government agency charged with responsibility for civilian space programs and research in aeronautics and aerospace. NASA was established in 1958 by President Eisenhower. Most U.S. space exploration has been carried out by NASA including the Apollo Moon landing, the Skylab space station and the Space Shuttle program. It is currently participating in the International Space Station project along with other nations. One of the main purposes of NASA is foster a better understanding of the Earth through the Earth Observing System (EOS). NASA also researches the sun and other planets, moons, comets and asteroids with unmanned probes.
The EOS consists of a variety of satellites launched into orbit around the Earth starting in 1997 to carry out extended observations of the Earth's land surface, biosphere, atmosphere and oceans. EOS is the main part of the NASA Earth Sciences Enterprise (ESE). The purpose of ESE is "to develop a scientific understanding of the Earth system and its response to natural and human-induced changes to enable improved prediction of climate, weather, and natural hazards for present and future generations". NASA's EOS has been providing information about the causes and effects of global climate change since the program began.
As a U.S. government agency, the U.S. Congress exercises oversight through committees in the House and Senate. The U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology in the House and the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in the Senate carry out NASA oversight and budget approval. The NASA budget reached a peak with the Apollo Moon mission at about one percent of the federal budget. Today, the budget is about one half of one percent of the federal budget.
With last November's national election, the control of the U.S. Senate passed into the hands of the Republicans. A junior senator with no special knowledge of science and technology named Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was appointed to be the head of the Senate committee. The Republican party's position on global climate change is to deny that it even exists. At a recent hearing, the head of NASA was called before the Senate committee. Chairman Cruz asked why NASA was spending time studying global climate change when its mission had to do with space exploration. The head of NASA had to explain that NASA's mission was both to explore space beyond the Earth and to use Earth orbiting satellites to gather important information about what was happening on the Earth. In frustration, he pointed out that if the rise in sea level that is predicted to accompany continuing global warming drowned Cape Kennedy, NASA would be out of business.
I find it appalling that the head of a Senate committee was either ignorant of the important work that NASA satellites did in studying the Earth or was simply pandering to the Republican disbelief in global climate change. Somehow, the Republican party seems to think that if they ignore a problem, it will go away. Unfortunately, that is not the way the world works.
Earth Observing System Satellites:
