Save Planetary Science

Dear AGU Planetary Science Section members,

The time has come for us to again stand up and fight for the future of our science. In part due to you making your voices heard, the US Congress continues work to restore a large portion of the serious cut to the FY 2013 NASA Planetary Science budget. Although the final budget won’t be enacted for some months due to the election, planning in both houses of Congress looks positive.

Now we must turn our attention to the source of the President’s budget – the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP). Working together with NASA, these agencies will finalize NASA's FY 2014 budget in the coming months, with key decisions being made in the next few weeks. In spite of the clear will of Congress to restore finding for Planetary Science, there is a significant possibility that the cuts to Planetary Science seen this year will be carried forward or even worsened in the FY 2014 budget. So, now is the time to make our voice heard to these key agencies.

Here is the action we need from you:

Below is a letter to OMB Director Jeffery Zients and OSTP Director John Holdren. This letter has been drafted to leverage the recent extraordinary success of Curiosity as a demonstration of what is possible in a well-supported Planetary Science Program and emphasizes the goals and priorities of the NRC Decadal Survey. The letter highlights what we believe are the most pertinent issue and may be sent as written. However, feel free to edit the letter if you wish to express support for Planetary Science in your own particular way. In making any changes, please understand that we are all in this together: Although we may, amongst ourselves, have opinions and disagreements on the priority of missions and objectives, we should all be united in having a viable Planetary Science program. Therefore, any letter should not advocate one particular program at the expense of another, but rather express support for increased funding in general, and the priorities of ourDecadal Survey.

You should:

(1) Add your name and any contact info you wish to the signature block on the letter**

(2) Edit the letter if you wish, or use as is

(3) Mail individual copies of the letter to each recipient (Zientz and Holdren) withcopies to the individuals cc’d at the bottom of the letter. Our feedback has been that an email barrage may serve to anger more than help, so we need you to send hard copies through the mail to the addresses below.

Addresses:
OMB
Jeffery Zients: Director, OMB – address letters to him and cc the others
Sally Ericsson
Paul Shawcross
Joydip Kundu

The Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20503

OSTP:
John Holdren: Director, OSTP – address letters to him and cc the others
John Olson
Tamara Dickinson

Office of Science and Technology Policy
Executive Office of the President
725 17th Street, Room 5228
Washington, DC 20502

Our goal is to flood the offices with our support for Planetary Science, so please take a few minutes today and send your letters. Thank you for your continued efforts to Save Planetary Science!

Best regards,
Laurie Leshin, P Section President

**Please note that if you are a US civil servant or contractor, you may not be permitted to advocate for Federal funding using resources and time at your place of employment (if there is any uncertainty, please check with your supervisor). For those cases, please use your home address and time after hours. Anyone can advocate for causes we believe in, just please do so legally!!

Letter Content

September 4, 2012

Dear Mr. Zients and Dr.Holdren,

When President Obama called NASA’s Curiosity rover team shortly after their successful landing on Mars, he said "We're fortunate to be part of a society that can reach beyond our planet and explore frontiers that were only imagined by our ancestors…I'm going to give you guys my personal commitment to protect the investments that have been made in science and technology." The President’s words reflect a clear understanding that NASA’s planetary scientists and engineers are a unique asset to our society. NASA is the only organization in the world that has demonstrated the ability to design, build, launch, land, and drive a spacecraft on Mars. This space exploration capability uniquely positions humanity within reach of answering the most compelling and inspiring of scientific questions: Is there life beyond Earth?

Unfortunately, instead of protecting and building upon our investments in this area, the Administration’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 and beyond would cede US leadership in this unique capability that is admired and envied by the world. The proposed budget would eliminate funding for new strategic planetary sciencemissions and dramatically retard the cadence of even low-cost, competed missions to explore of the Solar System.

I applaud the Obama Administration for the vision shown to date in supporting Curiosity’s grand mission, one that not only uplifts our spirit as a people, but also provides significant additional benefits to our Nation. Among these benefits, this daring accomplishment provides a powerfulsource of inspiration to our youth to seek careers in science and engineering.

However, the current budget proposal for NASA’s planetary science program would render Curiosity an end-point, rather than the next major stepping stone in a multi-generational quest. There is consensus amongplanetary scientists that returning carefully selected samples from the surface of Mars for analysis in the best labs on Earth is the next essential step. As such, this was the top recommendation of the recent US National Research Council (NRC) Planetary Science Decadal Survey. The NRC also recognizedJupiter’s “ocean world” Europa as a compelling potential habitat for life and therefore recommended it as the next high priority large mission in a balanced portfolio of large, medium and small missions.

Great nations embark upon great endeavors. The quest to answer the question “Is there life beyond Earth?" is such an endeavor. I respectfully urge you to restore the modest funding that is required for NASA to lead the way in this inspiring pursuit by funding NASA’s Planetary Science budget at the pre-cut level of $1.5B per year. Doing so will yield both tangible and intangible dividends far in excess of the modest investment.

Respectfully yours,

Name
Title (optional)
Address

CC: Sally Ericsson, Paul Shawcross, Joydip Kundu, Office of Management of Budget
John Olson, Tamara Dickinson, Office of Science & Technology Policy

Letter in Word Format

Click here to download a copy of this letter in Word format

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