[Mythanar]

I am professionally involved in space tech. Have to say, I like Trump's administration stance on NASA (quote):

"We see NASA in an exploration role, in deep space research," Bob Walker, a senior Trump adviser, told the Guardian newspaper. "Earth-centric science is better placed at other agencies where it is their prime mission."

...much more then I liked the previous administrator (Charles Bolden) mission:

"When I became the NASA administrator, (President Obama) charged me with three things," Bolden said in the interview which aired last week. "One, he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math; he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math and engineering."

Why were Muslim national relationships a NASA mission? Thought we had State Department for that.

[ZeroGravitas]

I don't really see the problem here, am I missing something?

Inspiring children sounds like something the Department of Education would control if everyone needs to stay strictly within their own box.

Should NASA go out of their way to exclude other nations when planning space missions? I don't get it.

[Arizhel]

How were they actively excluding anyone? NASA should be working with other space agencies that actually have the capability to do things. ESA has successfully launched rockets and probes, JAXA has done the same. What have middle-eastern nations done? Do they even have space agencies?

Sorry, but if your nation doesn't prioritize space exploration and have any capability there, that's not NASA's fault, and I don't think it should be NASA's responsibility to try to fix that.

edit: Note, personally I'm extremely worried about the near future under this administration and Congress, and I'm a big supporter of space exploration. But Obama's directives to NASA were IMO ridiculous and a distraction from the serious science work that the agency should be focusing on (both in space and in the atmosphere, as per the name). The Muslim world hasn't done anything useful in science and technology for centuries now. To be sure, some people from that area are very bright and have been very productive, but only when they've left that place and come to societies where their work is appreciated and not oppressed. But those people didn't need scientific agencies to set aside their serious work and pander to them to get them to step up and get involved. If you want more encouragement of people to get into this work, that's the job of the Education department, and perhaps the State department if it involves foreign relations. This doesn't mean NASA couldn't do a little outreach here and there (a big agency like that has all kinds of things it's doing all the time), but it shouldn't be made out to be a serious mission requirement, just like when tech companies send an engineer to schools to brainwash^Wshow kids how great STEM careers are, that's just a small extra job, not the company's main mission or even something they publicize as highly important to them.

[ZeroGravitas]

There's two ways you can read that quote.

1) That NASA's top three missions are inspiring kids, working more with other nations including reaching out to muslim nations

2) That NASA's three current focuses within its sub-goal of science outreach are the above.

One of these interpretations is ludicrous, and it appears to be the one you've latched onto. You might want to ask yourself why you've let yourself believe something so patently ridiculous. What is going on in your head that leads to you being so angry about something that clearly isn't true?

[Arizhel]

The problem here is that NASA's very name shows that the Earth's atmosphere is their concern. Now, that could be moved to another agency, with NASA concentrating only on space, but then it needs a new name. We could just drop the first 'A', making it the "National Space Administration" (or Agency), or "NSA" for short. Oh wait...

[lern_too_spel]

Bolden said that in an interview with Al Jazeera. Obama didn't actually tell him that Muslim nation outreach was his mission. http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/mar/12/...

[bhhaskin]

It makes perfect sense to move earth sciences to other agencies. NOAA should be taking point.

[knz]

Are NOAA getting that additional responsibility and associated funding?

Also, NASA's charter is much more broad than just space exploration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Aeronautics_and_Space...

"The original 1958 act charged the new Agency with conducting the aeronautical and space activities of the United States "so as to contribute materially to one or more of the following objectives:"

- The expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere and space;

- The improvement of the usefulness, performance, speed, safety, and efficiency of aeronautical and space vehicles;

- The development and operation of vehicles capable of carrying instruments, equipment, supplies and living organisms through space;

- The establishment of long-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from, the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and space activities for peaceful and scientific purposes.

- The preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical and space science and technology and in the application thereof to the conduct of peaceful activities within and outside the atmosphere.

- The making available to agencies directly concerned with national defenses of discoveries that have military value or significance, and the furnishing by such agencies, to the civilian agency established to direct and control nonmilitary aeronautical and space activities, of information as to discoveries which have value or significance to that agency;

- Cooperation by the United States with other nations and groups of nations in work done pursuant to this Act and in the peaceful application of the results, thereof; and

- The most effective utilization of the scientific and engineering resources of the United States, with close cooperation among all interested agencies of the United States in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, facilities, and equipment.

In 2012, a ninth objective was added: "The preservation of the United States preeminent position in aeronautics and space through research and technology development related to associated manufacturing processes."

[dragonwriter]

> It makes perfect sense to move earth sciences to other agencies. NOAA should be taking point.

The other agencies that have related missions to which one might plausibly argue that NASA's earth science mission might reasonably be transferred are also (including NOAA) being massively cut, in those specific areas, by the proposed Trump budget.

So, while there might be a hypothetical budget which included massive cuts to NASA's earth-focussed science which was not alarming because the mission was merely being moved to a more appropriate agency, the proposed Trump budget is not that hypothetical budget.

[Rebelgecko]

How? Their budget is being cut significantly more than NASA's.

[ocschwar]

NOAA does not design and launch birds. That's a NASA task.