VIDEO: Rep. Schiff, Bill Nye Discuss Mars Sample Return Mission, Funding for Space Exploration
Washington, D.C.— Today, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and legendary scientist Bill Nye the Science Guy released the following video where they discussed the significance of NASA’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission and continued investments in space exploration. The joint video comes after NASA announced cuts to the MSR budget that have resulted in hundreds of lost jobs.
Schiff has long supported investments in space exploration, innovation, and research and continuously opposed NASA’s MSR budget cuts. Last year, Schiff led a bipartisan push, consisting of California’s House and Senate delegation, urging NASA administrator Bill Nelson to reverse the funding reductions. Schiff has repeatedly emphasized the importance of the MSR mission’s impact on California jobs and U.S. leadership on space research and innovation.
To see the video, click here.
Key Excerpts:
Bill Nye on NASA & the MSR Mission
[…] the main thing is NASA is the best brand the United States has. And NASA does stuff that nobody else can do. We have rock samples sitting on Mars and little tubes like this one, and we want to bring them back to Earth so that we can learn more about Mars's environment in ancient times and today.
[…] Nobody else does what NASA does. There's no business case for exploring the ice on Europa, the moon of Jupiter, which has twice as much water as the Earth. We want to go there and explore.
Rep. Schiff on the Disastrous Decision to Cut Funding for the MSR Mission
[...] the Mars sample return is the highest priority of what's called the decadal survey. So every ten years, scientists get together, they decide what's the highest priority in this area for science. And bringing those samples back from Mars is number one. But sadly, my friends at NASA are trying to kill this program for God knows what reason. But we are going to work to restore that funding and make sure that we get that important science done.
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