NASA’s Mission Control

Although NASA is best known for its space missions, the agency is a leader in research about Earth. Or, at least it was. The agency recently dropped the phrase “to understand and protect our home planet” from its mission statement. The wording change, coupled with recent attempts to muzzle NASA scientists who spoke out about climate change, is troubling confirmation that the agency, and the Bush administration, are downplaying the warming of our planet and its consequences.

“At a time in which evidence grows on an almost daily basis of the potentially severe impacts of climate change, we find it inexplicable that NASA apparently no longer views protecting and understanding our home planet as a priority,” Sens. Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman wrote in a recent letter to NASA Administrator Michael Griffin. They note that NASA’s earth science studies, which ranges from studies of hurricanes to sea level rise to the Antarctica ozone hole, are some of the most respected in the world.

In addition to the mission statement wording change, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is cutting its earth science program by $3.1 billion over the next five years, with the money directed toward renewed efforts to send people to the moon in preparation for a manned Mars mission.

Knowing more about Mars, and perhaps eventually sending people there, is a worthwhile scientific endeavor. It can’t, however, come at the expense of critical research about our own planet and the dangers it faces from climate change.

This is not NASA’s first attempt to avoid or downplay climate change. Earlier this year, the agency reportedly tried to muzzle its top climate researcher, Jim Hansen, from fully expressing his views. After giving a speech in which he called for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, Dr. Hansen said he was ordered to have future papers and lectures reviewed by public affairs staff. The scientist said he would continue to speak out because NASA’s mission included the phrase “to understand and protect our home planet.”

Although Mr. Griffin initiated a re-write of NASA’s communications policy, which was widely praised by agency scientists, it is suspicious that the important phrase has now been removed from NASA’s mission statement.

NASA is not alone. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say that agency’s public affairs staff has refused to let them do interviews on climate change and that a NOAA magazine inappropriately said there was consensus among agency scientists that increased hurricane activity was the result of natural forces when many NOAA scientists believe man-made warming is a major cause.

Knowing more about Earth and its climate is more important than ever so now is not the time to curtail this research.