Congressional letter asks NASA to rescind Chandra cuts

WASHINGTON — 9 members of Congress have requested NASA to rethink vital modifications to operations of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory linked to proposed cuts within the house telescope’s price range.

Within the June 6 letter to NASA Administrator Invoice Nelson, the 9 members, all Democrats and most from Massachusetts, the place Chandra’s operations heart is positioned, expressed their opposition to NASA’s plans in its fiscal yr 2025 price range proposal to slash funding for the 25-year-old telescope, a transfer that scientists mentioned may successfully cancel the mission.

“If applied, these cuts would lead to a considerably diminished FY25 science mission and provoke a closeout course of in FY26,” the letter acknowledged. “The justification for these cuts cites rising mission prices and inefficiencies. However Chandra’s operational effectivity stays close to optimum, its prices secure, and its scientific returns per taxpayer greenback exceptionally excessive.”

The letter went on {that a} “untimely termination” of Chandra would have main impacts on the X-ray astrophysics neighborhood, “doubtlessly driving expertise to different international locations.”

The members referred to as on NASA to take care of full funding for Chandra — $68.7 million, what the company requested for the telescope in 2024 — “and to halt plans for vital reductions in FY25 till Congress determines Chandra’s appropriations.” Neither the Home nor the Senate have formally launched spending payments for fiscal yr 2025 that embody NASA, though the commerce, justice and science (CJS) appropriations subcommittee within the Home is scheduled to mark up its invoice, which funds NASA, in late June.

NASA’s proposed 40% lower in Chandra’s price range has obtained little public consideration in hearings within the Home and Senate concerning the price range request. An exception is an April 17 listening to by the Home CJS appropriations subcommittee, the place Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) requested Nelson to rethink the proposed lower.

“We needed to make onerous decisions,” Nelson responded, referring to the general fiscal constraints the company confronted. “Chandra has been the mission that has given us so many presents, nevertheless it’s been there for 25 years, and it’s time for brand spanking new missions.”

The letter comes as NASA is concluding a evaluation it introduced in March to seek out methods to cut back the prices of working each Chandra and the Hubble Area Telescope. Talking at a city corridor session of the 244^th Assembly of the American Astronomical Society June 10, Mark Clampin, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, mentioned he anticipated to quickly obtain the ultimate report from a committee referred to as the Operations Paradigm Change Evaluate.

“We requested them to take a look at how we may scale back the price of operations but in addition proceed to do the most effective science with these capabilities going ahead,” he mentioned of the evaluation. NASA would make an announcement “sooner or later” of any modifications to the operations of the 2 house telescopes, he mentioned, a course of that may embody a city corridor to debate with scientists the impacts of these modifications.

The evaluation, he acknowledged, included the choices of ending operations of Chandra and Hubble, however mentioned that was not a most well-liked consequence. “We don’t need to cease utilizing Hubble and we don’t need to cease utilizing Chandra. We need to discover a cheaper approach to do it,” he mentioned. “However, we wished to ensure that they had been taking a look at all of the choices that had been attainable.”

The letter was signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.)

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