The Under-Funded Frontier

By Jessica Smith

Some rang in 2012 with hopes of more prosperity, a more peaceful world, or at least a lower unemployment rate. NASA greeted the new year with $924

million less than what President Obama had requested for the program. Sure, $17.8 billion is still a few spaceships full of Benjamins, but skimming off the top of NASA's budget rather than other federally funded services may not have been the smartest move. It's not exactly rocket science. When the government reined in taxpayer dollars from orbit to meet needs a little closer to the ground, they curtailed an invaluable organization's capacity for innovation.

In the past 53 years, the United States launched monkeys to the moon, sought water and life on distant planets, and inspired children to run around their houses wearing hand-crafted spacegear. More importantly, NASA gave the American people something to take pride in and stand behind. Let's be honest here: we're competitive, we're narcissistic, and we're confident. NASA has been a vehicle for American pride since its inception. We love NASA because it put us on the moon first. We wore cardboard space helmets as children, channeling Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong — NASA isn't just a federal agency, it's the embodiment of America's heroic imagination. What does it say when we, as a society, put a handicap on an organization that not only represents so much but has been directly responsible for the development of things like water filters and shoe insoles? Call me crazy, but I, for one, don't want to live in a parched and shoeless society.

In essence, this move is one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind— in the wrong direction. Limited funding will stifle research, minimize missions, and signal our space-competitors worldwide that we're less dedicated to exploring our final and greatest frontier, even if it's only a fraction of the total budget.

Our parents and grandparents witnessed NASA's ascent to greatness and birthed a generation full of curiosity for the infinite abyss.That same mesmerized generation has slept on memory foam mattresses and seen through scratch-resistant lenses thanks to products developed by NASA. As proud, curious, and hopeful Americans, we should want the next generation to benefit from our legacy of innovation.

This substantial subtraction from NASA's bank account will be the difference between making life-altering discoveries or not.To borrow from an iconic astronaut, what we once thought would lead us to "infinity and beyond" has landed us just within our own atmosphere.