New NASA Budget: Ambitious or National Embarrassment?

Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama presented his proposed national budget for Fiscal Year 2013 (which begins Oct. 1), which includes $17.7 billion for NASA, a decrease of 0.3 percent ($59 million) from the current year's budget.

NASA says the new budget supports "an ambitious program of space exploration that will build on new technologies and proven capabilities to expand America's reach into the solar system." Stanford University professor G. Scott Hubbard says, "It is a real scientific tragedy and I personally believe it is a national embarrassment."

The following are two articles: NASA news release, and an article from AFP via Google regarding the problems with the budget as seen by scientists --

NASA News Release:
NASA Reaches Higher With Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request

 

WASHINGTON -- NASA announced Monday a $17.7 billion budget request for fiscal year 2013 supporting an ambitious program of space exploration that will build on new technologies and proven capabilities to expand America's reach into the solar system.
MORE: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/feb/HQ_12-051_2013_Budget.html

Scientists say Obama Mars cuts to hit research

 

By Kerry Sheridan (AFP) – 4 hours ago 

WASHINGTON — The United States will scale back Mars exploration under a proposed budget by President Barack Obama released Monday that has some scientists fuming over the risk of a NASA brain-drain.
The plan kills a deal between the US and European space agencies to cooperate on Mars robotic rover missions in 2016 and 2018, with a view to preparing to return samples from the red planet in the next decade.

MORE: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hjr0BDGzGlgOad5UgUy1-KFA5t-g?docId=CNG.e0cf09233f3f10da4b29aee32881f2c6.121

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