At a JPL press conference just after the landing of Curiosity, one of the questions addressed to the scientists, engineers and the Lab ran something like this: "Congratulations, you have done a fantastic job. You invented a new way to land on other worlds with heavy, amazing robots and made it look easy. Now, how many of you will be looking for work next week?" There was some laughter and then muted chuckles, then it got very quiet as many hands were slowly raised. Surely not this many?
Some will continue to work on Curiosity as it explores Gale Crater and beyond. But for others it's time to scan the want-ads (if they can find any). Thanks for your service, you are no longer needed. JPL doesn't fly to other planets anymore (see below).
It seems no matter how well NASA/JPL performs, no matter how long beyond the stipulated time the mission goes, NASA is punished. Success guarantees nothing.
A common question, still, is: "Why go? Why spend all that money on space when we have problems here on Earth?" This tired query has been with us since the days of Apollo. So indeed: why go?
Because: all successful missions to Mars from the US have outperformed their expected life-cycle. A good example is the MER rover Opportunity which had a planned 90-day mission; it has currently logged over 3000. Other missions have done as well.
Because: $2.4 billion buys us one bailout of a tiny savings and loan, or just under a week of combat operations in the Middle East. That's how quickly the tax dollars burn.
Because: space dollars are not shoveled into the spacecraft and shot into space. They are spent here on Earth, designing spacecraft and missions, hammering together rovers and rockets and paying smart people to do good work. They buy parts and services here in the United States (well less than half of your Chevy is built here- 99% of your Curiosity rover is). They support working Americans.
And I should add, all this is in the pursuit of one of the few things the United States does better than anyone: exploring space, and in particular exploring other planets. Scorecard for Mars: USA, 70%, Russia/USSR, 11% (Europe has fielded one partial success). Mars is hard to do.
Now, add in one more critical component: NASA and JPL engages education unlike any other federal agency. Future scientists, engineers, mathematicians, physicists and geologists are plucked from universities and enticed in high schools. That’s good for America too.
The list goes on. I could list a thousand or more spinoffs from NASA that would impress. Something like 90% of all the coolest modern technology, including digital watches, iPads, your mother’s pacemaker, the engine management systems in modern automobiles and even the circuit board in today’s microwave ovens owe their existence to NASA. And these advances continue to flow out of a space agency that has seen its budget hacked and its mission divided. But that's still nothing compared to what has befallen JPL.
JPL has a measly eight missions approved for the upcoming decade and not one of them leaves Earth orbit after 2013. As of then, JPL will never explore another world, save whatever their other aging probes scattered across the solar system can accomplish. The Lab’s planetary exploration budget has been cut by a full 20% or roughly $300 million this year alone.
Perhaps, given time, Curiosity will find something with its limited life-seeking capability that will lead us to conclude that life is likely on Mars. That could save space exploration... but don't count on it.
No, Congress, the Senate and the Executive Branch must unite to lead us to new and braver ventures. The media must care and show the world the amazing things that come from space exploration as only the media can. And the public- you- must do your part to press forward. Write, call, vote. You know the drill.
Because if one thing is for certain, it's that in the planetary exploration business, great success does not breed brave and daring programs, it breeds ennui and indifference. And those, above all, are the enemies of everything we hold dear.
