Bill Nye to President Trump: Get humans to Mars

'Science Guy' writes open letter to president with U.S. space recommendations

A screenrgab of Planetary Society CEO and popular scientist Bill Nye reading his open letter to President Trump recommending a 5-point plan for NASA. (The Planetary Society)

In an open letter to President Trump on Tuesday scientist and Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye laid out his recommendations for NASA under the new administration.

In a 16-page white paper Nye and the Planetary Society, a non-profit space organization, listed five goals Trump should consider for the space agency all designed to get humans to Mars.

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Nye said Trump should use the bipartisan support for NASA to advance space exploration.

“NASA is the best brand the U.S. government has,” according the paper.” It represents the nation’s spirit of adventure, demonstrates our technological capability and engages our citizens and the world through peaceful exploration.”

The first priority, Nye said, should be to keep Mars as the goal for human space exploration for the U.S. space program.

“We strongly recommend against starting over,” Nye said in a video released along with the report. “Let’s maintain all of the existing programs: Robotic missions, crew capsules and rocket programs.”

NASA is currently developing a deep space launch vehicle, the Space Launch System, with the new Orion space capsule which will launch from Kennedy Space Center. The Trump administration recently asked the NASA to review adding humans to the first test mission, Exploration Mission 1 or EM-1, scheduled for Nov. 2018 around the moon and back.

Adding humans to Em-1 would delay the launch by one year, William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for human spaceflight said last month in a call with reporters.

Next, Nye said NASA should approach Mars with deploying orbiting crew missions first, as the agency did with the moon, before landing humans on the red planet.

“We could get humans to Mars in just 15 years if we commit now and for the long term,” Nye said.

During a 2015 workshop hosted by the Planetary Society with space policy experts, astronauts and scientists, this plan was developed to be an “affordable path” using existing hardware and limited new development of unproven systems, according to the report.

In what has been the biggest worry for employees and scientists since the 2016 election that rely on NASA grants and funding Nye addressed the elephant in the room.

“I urge you to embrace the full potential of all of NASA’s science programs so they can continue to lead the world,” Nye said to Trump.

[Read the full recommendations for the Trump administration here from Bill Nye here]

NASA has four main areas of science: astrophysics, studying the other planets (planetary science), studying the sun’s effects on other planets (known as heliophysics) and Earth Science.

Trump’s administration has reportedly been considering large cuts or even defunding NASA’s Earth science programs.

Bob Walker, a senior Trump campaign adviser told the Guardian after the November election that there was no need for Earth science studies by NASA and described the research as “politically correct environmental monitoring.”

NASA’s research has been essential in tracking human impacts on the Earth, known as climate change.

In his fourth recommendation, Nye stressed that NASA cannot do it alone.

“Unleash private investment,” he said of commercial space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance.

Nye urges the new administration to enact policy that will enable the growth of the private space sector as the organizations continue to support NASA.

Almost all of the major commercial space companies have facilities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center or are building them now.

Recently before a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch KSC Director Bob Cabana described the Space Center as the spaceport of the future with the help of commercial companies.

Trump has met with both SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos.

Nye said commercial achievement will “blaze a trail to Mars and beyond.”

Finally, the Planetary Society cited the recent National Academies report saying that without increases in NASA’s budget the agency will not be able to continue many of its current programs, like the International Space Station, let alone get humans to Mars.

Nye recommends a NASA budget increase by 5 percent every year for the next five years. That rate would bring NASA’s FY 2022 funding to $24.9 billion. NASA’s budget request for fiscal year 2017 was $19 billion.

Compared to other government agencies, NASA’s budget is less than 1 percent of the federal budget.

This increase would support tens of thousands of jobs, Nye said.

The popular scientist said he would like to speak with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence or other members of the administration about the five-point plan.

“You have the opportunity to provide clear direction to our nation’s space program,” Nye said. “The advances and discoveries made on your watch could be historic.”

Watch Bill Nye's full open letter to President Trump in the video below:


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