It looks as if the nemesis of so many Mars-bound probes, JPL's Great Galactic Ghoul (the mythical entity that is suspected of eating the failed Mars missions) may have the last laugh, courtesy of the White House. In February, the administration zeroed-out most Mars exploration funding.
So under this scenario, the Mars Science Lab would continue (little choice, as it launched some time ago), and MAVEN, an upcoming orbiter, would continue development. But all future endeavors, including NASA's participation in the European Space Agency's planned missions for 2016/2018. Besides a "failure of imagination" (to borrow words from the pain of Apollo 1), this represents a withdrawal from America's lead in space exploration, and especially our almost sole domination of Mars exploration. It is also a betrayal of the ESA and our planned mission cooperation.
At this point, NASA and JPL have a combined suite of spacecraft orbiting Mars which offer unprecedented cross-support of surface missions. Should MSL land and deploy successfully, it will enjoy an incredible network communication and mission support. This is a unique set of circumstances which are available nowhere other than Earth, and the clock is ticking: as the years pass, equipment ages, maneuvering fuel depletes and capabilities diminish. There is quite literally no time like the present to move forward.
Fortunately, there is pushback. In the last few weeks voices have been raised in Congress resisting the proposed cuts, which would amount to a fifth of planetary space exploration funding and associated programs. The new budget and its distribution will not be a slam-dunk. Other voices within governmental space-science circles have called the President's approach a "Going out of business scenario" for outer planets exploration, not to mention the inner solar system.
It is worth remembering that this comes after the cancellation of the Constellation moon/orbital program which, while possibly flawed in its planning, was arguably the only real governmental vision forward for human spaceflight at this time. Given the state of the Russian space program and launchers, some fear that a single launch failure could shut-down the space station, possibly permanently.
What will ultimately transpire remains to be seen. What is certain is that this is the time when our voices are critical. We all have other individual priorities, especially in a "down economy." It can be hard to maintain enthusiasm for planetary exploration when we are trying to keep our collective heads above water. But as I point out in "Destination Mars" again and again, few in modern space exploration have come close to the success that JPL has enjoyed over the decades. Their programs have a high rate of return, almost always many times the lab's expectations. And, even more intensely than NASA, the Lab has learned to do so much more with less. In fact, JPL and its associates receive an annual budget equivalent to about ten days of US Afghanistan war funding. From operating Mars Phoenix out of a university outbuilding to repurposing software and hardware from one mission to another, JPL has truly made lemonade out of lemons, to borrow a hackneyed phrase.
Please take a moment and lend your voice at this critical time. I don't like to ladle guilt onto readers (well, not much anyway)... but will make this exception: you can go here to contact your elected officials and express your support for the continued exploration of space. At a time when the United States finds itself challenged for excellence on every front, this is the one thing (besides building weapons and commercial software) that we continue to do better than anyone else. Let's continue.
