NASA Focuses on Developing New Moon Craft
By ALICIA CHANG
LOS ANGELES – NASA has delayed two programs to search for planets capable of supporting life as the space agency instead focuses on developing a new manned spacecraft to return to the moon in the next decade.
Both the SIM PlanetQuest and Terrestrial Planet Finder missions, managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, aim to answer the question of whether there are Earth-like planets beyond our solar system with conditions suitable for life or developing in that direction.
Astronomers have found evidence of more than 100 extrasolar planets, but most are gas giants larger than Jupiter and unfriendly to life.
President Bush’s budget proposal released Monday seeks to give the National Aeronautics and Space Administration $16.8 billion for fiscal year 2007, a 3 percent increase from the year before. Of that, about $5.3 billion in funding will go toward the space agency’s science missions.
NASA is trying to fulfill Bush’s space exploration vision to build the new Crew Exploration Vehicle that would replace the aging space shuttle fleet and enable a return to the moon by 2018. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told a news conference that the budget reflects that priority.
Under the proposed budget, the SIM PlanetQuest project would receive $98.5 million in fiscal year 2007. But under a reorganization plan, its original launch date of 2011 was pushed back to no earlier than 2015.
The goal of SIM is to measure the distances and positions of stars to locate Earth-like planets out to 100 light years away using a technique called interferometry where light from multiple telescopes is combined to create images.
The dual Terrestrial Planet Finder telescopes, originally scheduled to lift off in 2016 and 2019, will use the information by SIM to photograph those planets to look for evidence of life. That program has been indefinitely postponed.
Geoffrey Marcy, an astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley, said the delayed launch of SIM and Terrestrial Planet Finder means it will take longer for scientists to determine whether there is extraterrestrial life.
“I’m disappointed that our society can’t put more resources into answering the glorious question of whether we humans are alone in this universe,” said Marcy, who is also a principal investigator for SIM.
The Planetary Society, a space advocacy group based in Pasadena, charged that unmanned missions are being shortchanged in the current budget.
“NASA’s robotic exploration program is being flat-lined,” said Louis Friedman, the society’s executive director.
Despite the delays, other JPL-managed projects including sending the next generation of spacecraft to roam Mars remain on track. The Pasadena-based NASA center is best known for its robotic exploration of the solar system,
“All of JPL’s high priority projects for the near future are either fully funded or funded with some delays to their implementation,” JPL said in a statement.
JPL, which laid off about 300 workers last year as part of an agency-wide cut, said its workforce will remain stable in light of the proposed budget. The center currently has about 5,000 workers.
The NASA budget allocated $90.5 million toward the launch of Phoenix Mars lander in 2007. The stationary probe will land on Mars’ north pole and use its robotic arm to dig into the icy terrain for signs of water.
Another $348 million went to the Mars Science Laboratory, which will roam the Red Planet collecting soil samples and rock cores for analysis. The Mars Science Laboratory is scheduled to launch in 2009.
Last year, another JPL-managed project – the Dawn mission to visit two of the solar system’s largest asteroids – was told to stand down because of cost overruns and technical problems. The Dawn spacecraft was to launch in June, but NASA is awaiting an independent review of the project before going ahead.
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On the Net:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov