What We Can Do to Help NASA
The NASA Situation and What We Can Do. The Parker Solar Probe is a great recent example of the engineering and science prowess of NASA and collaborators. The Oct 14 2024 launch of NASA’s Europa Clipper on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket was good news and some relief especially after Hurricane Milton crossed Florida and narrowly missed Cape Canaveral the prior week. Yet despite success in recent science missions and plans to send humans to the moon and Mars in the Artemis and Gateway projects, a sweeping new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has elevated worries about the future of the space agency.
As I described at the Sept 8 meeting of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton, the “NASA at a Crossroads” report by the National Academy highlighted the results of an in-depth analysis. It revealed serious deficiencies of NASA’s infrastructure which are critical to future space missions (Figure below, and website https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27519/nasa-at-a-crossroads-maintaining-workforce-infrastructure-and-technology-preeminence). “Overburdened and underfunded” were terms describing several operations, such as the Deep Space Network, the world-wide array of giant radio antennas supporting interplanetary missions including the Mars rovers operated by JPL. Without the Deep Space Network, image data from James Webb Space Telescope would not make it to earthside. The ability to fund NASA’s aging core is especially difficult because of the huge expenses needed for the future lunar and Mars projects. Most alarmingly, the Academy report described an erosion in engineering expertise, including challenges in being able to recruit top talent in comparison to other organizations and companies. In other words, the prestige of NASA is not as attractive as it once was in the minds of people entering or advancing in the engineering and scientific fields.
Can we as amateur astronomers do anything to influence the attractiveness to young people of science and engineering education and career tracks in the US? Nature deficit disorder is a term describing the loss of time spent in the natural environment, especially damaging for kids growing up in cities who may never experience a dark starlit night with milky way glowing overhead. It seems that this has a dampening effect on the psyches of young people as well as adults who might otherwise be much more interested in space sciences and engineering. As time goes on, the educational pipeline of talented young people finds career outlets in other directions away from the natural sciences and engineering. So, this is where we as amateur astronomers and space exploration enthusiasts might be able to help. AAAP’s focus on outreach and bringing astronomy to the public and students can inspire and enable others to find that essential curiosity and love for the celestial sphere and nature as a whole. We can do our part to help engage people of all ages in embracing astronomy and space sciences. What else? This is worthy of more discussion at our upcoming meetings, and I welcome your input.