Ted Cruz and the Ice Giants

National Review ^ | 1-17-2015 | Josh Gelernter

[smoothsailing]

JANUARY 17, 2015

Ted Cruz and the Ice Giants

Senator Ted Cruz now oversees NASA, and that’s a very good thing.

By Josh Gelernter

Neptune, photographed by Voyager 2 in 1989. (NASA)

With the GOP in charge of the Senate, Ted Cruz has taken charge of the Science, Space, and Competitiveness subcommittee. Which means Ted Cruz now oversees NASA. On Wednesday, Cruz issued a statement saying that “Our space program marks the frontier of future technologies for defense, communications, transportation and more, and our mindset should be focused on NASA’s primary mission: exploring space and developing the wealth of new technologies that stem from its exploration. . . . We must refocus our investment on the hard sciences, on getting men and women into space, on exploring low-Earth orbit and beyond . . . I am excited to raise these issues in our subcommittee and look forward to producing legislation that confirms our shared commitment to this vital mission.” It’s not surprising that Cruz has taken an interest in NASA — whatever you think of his policies, there’s no question that he has a powerful intellect. And as a bonus, NASA’s Houston establishment is in the Texan senator’s constituency. So Cruz can be counted on to take this seriously

Cruz is right when he calls for focus on manned space flight; a return to launching our own astronauts into space should be at the top of the agenda, and a return to Apollo-style deep-space exploration should be just below it. We’ve already got the unmanned side of things pretty well covered: NASA has ongoing unmanned missions to Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto. The European Space Agency is handling Venus. I’d like to make a plea for the forgotten planets — the Ice Giants...

[sagar]

How about getting the gubmint out of NASA and letting private companies take over space exploration? Let the market decide, not gubmint bureaucrats.

[GeronL]

they are, of course the taxpayers are shelling out billions to Boeing and SpaceX

[txrangerette]

But what I want to know is what carefully calibrated balance of skin color and gender will future astronauts have and what will their religions be and how many will be atheists, what about gays vs straights and don’t forget the LGBTs.

[txhurl]

I want to know how many rods-from-the-Gods installations!

[FreeAtlanta]

Can he end Obama’s primary mission of NASA now is to help Muslims feel good about themselves?

[Usagi_yo]

Terrible idea, but then NASA is in pretty bad shape so no one can fault you for thinking it was.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

As far as manned exploration goes, by far the most sensible idea is to send mining robots to the Moon and eventually to Mars, with the idea of hard rock mining into cliff faces, to create tunnels eventually to be used as habitats.

This would accomplish something that NASA has neglected, to make such Lunar and Martian exploration cumulative. That is, the more underground habitat that is built, the less habitat the astronauts will eventually have to bring. In exchange, they can bring more food, fuel, and scientific equipment.

[Ben Ficklin]

There have been quite of few articles about Cruz's appointment and how that might affect space exploration.

But none of these articles have touched on NASA exploring earth. There are numerous satellites up there staring at the earth, collecting data on Earth System Science and earth's cycles. And much of this data touches on the carbon cycle.

In the coming days the SMAP satellite(Soil Moisture Active Passive) will be launched which is the last of the 2014 satellites and 4 more are scheduled to be launched in 2015. The OCO 2 (Orbiting Carbon Observatory) was launched last July.

If Cruz/GOP were to cut funding to NASA, they would try to cut funding for the earth observing satellites, not space exploration. That is because the data the satellites are collecting is ominous.

If you have a couple of hours, there is a documentary entitled Earth From Space that can be found on YouTube that covers these satellites and the data being collected.

[Zeppo]

What is your specific concern about those satellites? Is it that the data will be misused, or something else?

Data from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory may help to demolish the foolish warmist creed of “natural CO2 good, human CO2 bad” (that is, if the real data continues to be made available rather than adjusted and homogenized data).

[goodnesswins]

Give us a hint about the type of “ominous” data being collected

[Ben Ficklin]

You are right, the OCO will collect data that will add to our knowledge and no one knows what those implications are. But more important, OCO should be able to determine where the "missing carbon" is going.

As for ominous data, the infrared spectrophotometer on the satellites measure air temp and they show rising temps. The satellite that is measuring water levels in aquifers show water levels in the aquifers to be falling. Nations like India and China show concerns in regard to how the carbon cycle affects the hydrologic cycle(monsoons), which combine with the nutrient cycle of the Himalayas to feed half the people on earth

[SoConPubbie]

How about getting the gubmint out of NASA and letting private companies take over space exploration? Let the market decide, not gubmint bureaucrats.

Well, when NASA is sticking to what it is supposed to do, the advances in Technology that come from it's efforts MORE than pay for whatever tax-payer money is spent on their efforts.

[Zeppo]

If Cruz/GOP were to cut funding to NASA, they would try to cut funding for the earth observing satellites, not space exploration.

What is the source for that claim?

[justa-hairyape]

Carbon cycle follows temperature trend. Therefore it is a waste of time. Follow the energy cycle. That is all that matters.

[Ben Ficklin]

"What is the source for that claim"

I would say that is the accepted consensus, or, perhaps the conventional wisdom.

[sagar]

Please give me clues to how taxpayers are getting returns on NASA’s 18 billion dollars taxpayer investment?

[SunkenCiv]

It *is* a good thing.