Planet Earth to Receive Even More NASA Attention

NASA's aspirations for a lunar return may have been grounded due to shifting priorities and budgetary constraints, but the agency's wealth of technical expertise won't go to waste. As NPR reports, the focus at NASA is shifting slightly from 'out there' to 'down here.'

The space agency's Earth Science Division has been quiet, perhaps even overlooked over recent years, but it is slated to receive a substantial influx of federal support along with the assignment to apply their tools and knowledge to address a spate of global environmental challenges, in particular those relating to a changing climate and the world's need for adequate supplies of safe, clean water.

According to NPR, underfunding of NASA's earth sciences team over the past decade had left them scrambling to make do with aging equipment, unable to update a fleet of satellites necessary for detailed monitoring of ice cover, atmospheric chemistry and sea temperatures.

A reversal of fortunes is in the works by way of an Obama administration proposal to increase the division's funding by more than 60 percent over recent levels of support. A proposal to dedicate $2.4 billion in additional Earth sciences funding for NASA over the next five years still requires approval by Congress, but as NPR indicates, legislators so far are giving unofficial nods of approval to the agency's mission adjustment.

As we recently wrote, even before President Obama has the opportunity to sign a funding bill, NASA's ramped-up focus on Planet Earth has already taken off. Last month, the agency introduced the LAUNCH Sustainability Forum. Arising through partnerships with peer federal agencies and private companies, and beginning with an event dedicated to water, LAUNCH aims to showcase good ideas and technological innovations that may figure into designing for sustainable systems and minimizing impact to resources and global climate.

Photo by NASA via Wikimedia Commons.