Astronauts protest in front of the United States Capitol: they ask not to cut NASA’s budget

THE astronauts which will integrate the Artemis II mission and who will travel to the moon in the next few years they asked this Thursday, in front of the Capitol American, that the government of Joe Biden do not reduce the budget allocated to pot.

In these critical weeks why Republicans and Democrats They can’t agree on the debt ceilingthe four astronauts who will make up the mission (three Americans and a Canadian), visited this Thursday the building where the most immediate economic future of the country is established.

“We are all aware of the context that has been discussed here and have come to talk about the virtues of the Artemis program, what we are doing and also to express our gratitude for the leadership and vision that has been shown thus far and which has brought us here,” said Víctor Glover, who will be the ship’s pilot, at a press conference.

To prevent the US government from suspending payments, Congress must approve a new increase in the debt ceiling by June 1, which the Republicans condition on the reduction of various items, including funds for the space agency .

The four astronauts who make up the mission met with lawmakers and senators to defend the importance of investing in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the government agency responsible for the civilian space program and aeronautics and aerospace research.

“(Lawmakers) want to continue supporting us and know how important the decisions and discussions that are taking place right now are to the future of sustainability and the execution of this mission,” added Glover, who will be the first African-American to set foot on the moon.

The ten-day mission around the moon will have Reid Wiseman as commander and Glover as pilot, while astronaut Christina Hammock Koch, the first woman to set foot on the satellite, and Jeremy Hansen, the latter from the Canadian agency

The four will be part of NASA’s first manned mission on the path to establishing a long-term presence on the moon, which will be the first mission in 50 years to return to Earth since the end of the Apollo program, which between 1968 and 1972 placed 12 astronauts on the lunar surface.

The astronauts were accompanied Thursday by NASA Administrator, former Democratic Senator Bill Nelson.

“It was extraordinary that Republicans and Democrats, who sometimes disagreed, came together throughout history. The space program is a unifying force,” he said.

“Hopefully the debt ceiling situation will be resolved,” he added. And she said any spending cuts in the space agency rumours, “the kind of cuts that have been talked about,” would be “devastating for NASA” and the space programs.

The press conference was also attended by former astronaut Mark Kelly, currently a Democratic senator from Arizona, who insisted that work must be done “to get the message across and talk about why these programs are important”.

“NASA’s success is largely attributable to the vision and leadership of NASA administrators over the past three administrations and also to broad bipartisan support here in Congress,” he said.

NASA anticipates that the shipment of the first crewed mission of the Artemis program will land on the satellite in 2025.

Until then, Hansen explained, the astronauts will work to adapt to the spacecraft and crews that are participating in the mission.

“We haven’t figured it all out yet. We’re still building pieces (…) We’ll find some problems and solve them together and that’s how we train to prepare, getting proficient with the field team before we go. It’s one of the most exciting parts for a astronaut,” he said.

So while the 10 days around the moon “will be amazing” and “seeing Earth from the perspective of the moon will be something that will touch our souls”, the time “between now and launch is just as magical as we will be solving difficult challenges with an amazing team on the field”.