See other posts from September 2012

Action Alert: Senate hearing on the future of Mars exploration this Wed

Posted by Casey Dreier

2012/09/11 05:01 CDT

Topics: Space Policy, Planetary Society Political Advocacy, Mars

We’ve just learned that the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will be holding a hearing on the future of Mars exploration (robotic and human) this Wednesday, September 12th at 2:00pm EDT. The hearing features testimony from MER Principal Investigator Steve Squyres and MSL Project Scientist John Grotzinger, among others.

As you know, the President's proposed budget this year cuts funding for planetary exploration by $309 million – almost 21% – which prevents NASA from pursuing the next generation of missions to Mars and Jupiter's icy moon, Europa.

If you live near D.C., you can help the cause of planetary exploration funding by attending this meeting and establish a strong presence from the public.

These are the Senators who help determine funding within NASA. The more public interest they perceive, the more likely they are to support these potentially game-changing missions to Mars and beyond.

Also, if you have Planetary Society shirts, stickers, or pins, wear them! Show everyone why you're there and who we are.

Senators will take note if they see a full room.

Here are the details:

Hearing: “The Path from Low-Earth Orbit to Mars”
September 12th, 2:00pm
Russell Senate Office Building, Room 253
Washington, DC 20002
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/rE3Q0
Click here to see the full details of the hearing on the Senate committee’s website.

If you’re able to go, please send us an email letting me know what your experience was like. I’ll publish your stories on this blog. Send your experiences to advocacy@planetary.org.

This is a part of our larger advocacy push as we work to prevent the proposed cuts to our country's planetary exploration budget. You can view more information about our current Save Our Science campaign here.

Let’s keep fighting for planetary exploration!