Advocating for planetary exploration on Capitol Hill

In October 2024, The Planetary Society’s director of government relations, Jack Kiraly, organized two targeted advocacy days to connect leading experts in space science with key legislative and committee staff on Capitol Hill. 

These visits were part of a concerted effort to demonstrate the importance of space science and exploration to key leaders in Washington, D.C. Between the two advocacy events, we also facilitated 18 meetings between scientists and House and Senate staff.

The first event, held on Oct. 3 and 4, focused on the lunar science community, which is reeling from NASA’s abrupt cancellation of the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission in July. Lunar scientists, including Dr. Clive Neal, Dr. Ben Fernando, and Ruby Patterson, engaged in meetings to underscore VIPER’s importance and advocate for reversing recent budget cuts that have fallen predominantly on NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. 

VIPER, the agency’s first robotic lunar rover, is critical to understanding water resources on the Moon and lays the groundwork for long-term human exploration. VIPER was originally slated to land on the Moon under a Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract with Astrobotic. The rover was fully built and had begun environmental testing when NASA proposed canceling it. But thanks to significant public pressure — including a letter signed by nearly 5,000 space advocates — and congressional action, the cancellation was rejected by Congress. NASA has turned to industry and international partners to help get VIPER a ride to the Moon.

Turning to Earth’s “evil twin,” Venus, NASA currently has two missions on the books: the Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy (VERITAS) orbiter and the Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging (DAVINCI) probe. 

When these missions began development in 2021, they were expected to launch sometime in the mid-2020s. However, due to budget constraints, the missions’ schedules were upended, and VERITAS was put on an indefinite hold. In early 2023, space advocates successfully called on Congress to restart the development of these missions, which was secured as part of the fiscal year 2024 budget. However, both missions are still facing budget-related delays that would push their launches into the 2030s. 

Enter The Planetary Society, which organized a Venusian advocacy day coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the end of the Magellan orbiter — the last American mission to the planet. Independent members of the VERITAS and DAVINCI science teams, Dr. Darby Dyar and Dr. Stephen Kane, respectively, came to Washington, D.C., to advocate for fully funding these missions and ensuring a robust, balanced planetary science program. 

These prominent Venus scientists spoke with congressional staff about the critical insights these missions would provide about Venus’ geology and climate, their importance in understanding the evolution of terrestrial worlds, and the need for consistent funding to avoid delays that could jeopardize decades of progress in planetary exploration. Primed by the support of space advocates around the country, these meetings helped reignite enthusiasm on Capitol Hill for Venus exploration. 

These advocacy days highlight the critical role of public engagement in advancing NASA’s science goals. By connecting experts with policymakers, The Planetary Society continues to push for increased investment in space science and exploration, emphasizing the need for consistent support to avoid derailing progress on high-priority missions and diminishing U.S. leadership in space.