Trump-Musk Row pour the largest crisis in NASA ‘

The line between Donald Trump and Elon Musk for a great bill on costs has aggravated uncertainty in the future of NASA budget, which is facing deep cuts.

The Space Agency has published its budget request for a congress, which will finance scientific projects, shortened.

Forty scientific missions that are under development or in space must be put into the queue.

The president threatened to withdraw federal contracts with Musk’s Space X. NASA counting on the Falcon 9 missile fleet to restore the international space station with crew and materials. The Space Agency also expects to use its Starship rocket to send astronauts to the moon and eventually to Mars as soon as it is designed.

Dr. Simeon Barber, a space scientist at the open university, said the uncertainty had a “cooling impact” on the human space program.

“The strange exchanges, decisions and turns that we witnessed last week undermine the very bases on which we build our ambitions.

“Space science and intelligence relies on long -term planning and cooperation between the government, companies and academic institutions.”

In addition to hostility between the president and Mr. Musk, there is also a concern of deep cuts requested by the White House to NASA’s budget.

All sectors were intended for savings, except for the effort to send astronauts to Mars, which received an increase of $ 100 million (736,000 pounds).

According to Casey Draier, the Chief of Space Policy for the Planetary Society, founded in Pasaden, which promotes space exploration, potential cuts are “the largest crisis that ever faces the US space program.”

NASA said his request to reduce the total budget by almost a quarter “aligns (its) portfolios of science and technology on the mission needed to study the moon and Mars.”

D -R Adam Baker, Space Analyst at the Crenfield University, told BBC News that if these proposals are approved by Congress, it will fundamentally transfer the agency’s attention.

“President Trump relocates NASA for two things: to land on astronauts a month before the Chinese and forcing astronauts to plant the US flag on Mars. Everything else is secondary.”

Those who supported the proposals say that the White House budget gave the NASA the exact purpose, for the first time since the planting of the Moon of Apollo 1960s and the 70s, when the goal was to defeat the Soviet Union for the Moon. NASA’s critics say that since then the space agency has become a swollen, unreasonable bureaucracy that regularly massively goes to the budget to its space missions and spends money taxpayers.

One of the most outrageous examples of this is NASA’s new rocket for her plans to return American astronauts to the moon, the Space launch system (SLS). Its development is delayed, and the costs on the spiral so that it costs 4.1 billion dollars (3.3 billion pounds) for each launch. On the contrary, the equivalent SpaceX missile system, Starship estimates, costs about $ 100 million (80 million pounds) for launch because it is designed for multiple use. Jeff Bezos Blue Origin Space Company promises a similar savings for the proposed new Glenn missile.

Surprisingly, SLS will be stopped as part of the White House offers, hoping that Starship and New Glenn may take their place. But the last three Starship launches were unsuccessful, and the blue origin has only recently begun to experience its moon.

“It is worried that NASA can jump out of the pan, into the fire,” says D -Barber.

“The development of these alternatives SLS is bankruptcy Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

“If they lose their appetite for this endeavor and SpaceX or Blue Origin, they say they need more money to develop their systems, Congress will have to give them it,” says D -Barber.

According to Dr. Barber, there is great concern, causing a potential loss of 40 missions to study other planets and control over the influence of climate change from space, many of which are related to cooperation with international partners.

“I think it is very sad that what took so much time can be shot down so quickly without planning it after.”

The projects facing the ax include dozens of planetary missions that were already in space, for which most expenses for development and launch are already paid, with relatively small savings, their performance costs are offered.

Two cooperation with the European Space Agency is also threatened: an ambitious plan for the Martian rocks, assembled by NASA Grouperance Rover back to Earth, and the mission of sending Europe Rosalind Franklin to the Red Planet to find the signs of the past.

Professor Sir Martin Sweet, Head of the UK Space Firm Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, and co -author A Report of the Royal Society about the future of space He says that while development was “unwanted”, it can be turned for Europe as it is more responsible for its own space exploration.

“We may have been too dependent on NASA to wear a great accent in space,” he said BBC News.

“This is an opportunity to think about how Europe wants to get the best balance in its space activity.”

But in the short term in Europe much more disadvantage. In addition to the return of Mars and its Marschodod samples, ESA risks reducing access to the international space station when it is entered, and the budget reduction cancels its extensive contribution to its successor, Lunar Gateway, a multinational space station scheduled for orbit around the moon.

In the recently published ESA strategy stated that “he would strive to create a more autonomous space and continue to be a reliable, strong and desirable partner with space agencies from all over the world,” given that it will do it with or without NASA.

Also, according to Dr. Baker, who are facing the cuts, are numerous current and proposed land observation programs.

“These land observation programs are our Canar in a coal mine,” he said BBC News.

“Our ability to predict the impact of climate change and mitigation and it can be sharply reduced. If we turn off this early warning system, it is a terrible perspective.”

The budget proposals still have to be approved by Congress. Casey Draier Planetary Society told BBC News that many Republicans have stated lobbying privately that they were ready to vote against the reduction.

But, Mr. Drajer is worried that there is a high probability that a political socket may mean that the budget will not be agreed. It is likely that the shortened White House budget will be introduced as a temporary measure, which can then be easily canceled because when space missions are disabled, it is difficult, if not impossible, start them again.