CNN.com – NASA satellites feel budget crunch – Mar 6, 2006

The Bush administration’s agenda of returning manned missions to the moon is draining critical funding from NASA’s earth science programs. According to the article above, this could cause the loss of data critical to weather forecasting and early warning systems. Many of the satellites being used currently are old and in need of replacement, and some are quite literally on the brink of failure. I wish I could see the logic behind another manned mission to the moon. While there is certainly more to be learned, I can’t help but feel this program is a knee-jerk reaction to the Chinese Space program. I’m also reminded of the Katrina disaster when I see politicians changing NASA’s mission with little to no regard for the consequences.