President Barack Obama Recognizes NASA Employees’ Public Service “David Lavery, program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington, and scientist William Borucki of NASA’s Ames Research Centers in Moffett, Field, Calif., were the agency’s honorees. Lavery and his Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team received the Science and Environment medal for their work on the successful development, launch, landing, operations, and science activities of the Curiosity rover. Borucki was honored as a […]

Outgoing NASA Deputy Reflects on High-profile, Big-money Programs, Space News “Bolden, a retired Marine Corps major general and former shuttle commander loyal to his troops and trusted by lawmakers, had quickly lost the White House’s confidence in his ability to explain and defend administration policy. During his first week on the job, NASA abruptly canceled a long list of scheduled media interviews with Bolden after the White House took issue […]

Google+ Hangout: We the Geeks: Asteroids “This Friday, an asteroid nearly three kilometers wide is going to pass by the Earth-Moon system. The fly-by is harmless — at its closest, the asteroid will be about 15 times farther from us than the Earth is from the moon — but to mark the event, the White House will host the second in a series of “We the Geeks” Google+ Hangouts to […]

Exploring a possible mission to Mars, Washington post “The Obama administration’s 2010 “National Space Policy of the United States of America” requires the NASA administrator to set “far-reaching exploration milestones,” including: “By 2025, begin crewed missions beyond the moon, including sending humans to an asteroid. By the mid-2030s, send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth.” So, taken literally, the policy does not call for NASA to […]

President Obama to Host White House Science Fair “Today, President Obama will host the White House Science Fair and celebrate the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. The President will also announce new steps as part of his Educate to Innovate campaign, an all-hands-on-deck effort to get more girls and boys inspired to excel in these key subjects.”

Back to the Moon? Not any time soon, says Bolden, Space Politics “However, [Bolden] made it clear NASA has no plans to lead its own human return to the Moon under his watch. “NASA will not take the lead on a human lunar mission,” he said. “NASA is not going to the Moon with a human as a primary project probably in my lifetime. And the reason is, we can […]

Enact Legislation to Restrict the NASA Budget to No Less than 1.00% of Federal Funding, as of FY2014, We The People Petition “In 1961, at the height of the space race, the NASA budget was 4.41% of federal outlays. In 2005, despite the federal government spending only ~$15 billion on NASA, $180 billion of economic activity was created by this outlay . The 2013 budget expects ~$19 billion of funding […]

Keith’s note: According to comments made by PAO AA David Weaver, speaking at the the NASA Advisory Council Committee on Education and Public Outreach meeting on Tuesday, NASA expects that its budget will be released on 18 March – but that date may slip. Weaver, Charlie Bolden, and others were at the White House on Monday. Stay tuned

Charlie Bolden Intends To Press President Obama on Mars Mission Mandate for NASA, earlier post “At one point, Bolden teared up and said that “Mars is the Goal”. Bolden claimed that he was intent upon going to the White House, “pounding his shoe on the table”, and demanding a commitment from President Obama to direct NASA to send humans to Mars. Bolden said that he needs that commitment to allow […]

Top NASA scientist arrested (again) in White House protest, Fox “NASA’s top climate scientist and government official James Hansen was arrested Wednesday outside the White House — at least the fourth arrest now for the scientist. Hansen, a controversial and highly vocal proponent of the argument that man’s actions have dramatically affected the planet’s climate, is the director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies — a position for which […]