The recent budget proposal has really gotten the country shaken up on several levels. Clearly, The Planetary Society has also taken note of recent developments in the White House, which is why their CEO Bill Nye just wrote an open letter addressing the President of America. The letter isn’t hostile or demeaning but is only a set of helpful suggestions that Nye believes might benefit the country. These suggestions range from topics like space exploration to funding of space research. Overall, the letter is quite fascinating, and Nye makes some excellent points.aFive point Agenda
Letter to Trump
bill nye has expressed his point of view quite openly with a letter addressed to President Trump, and his opinions can be broken down into five major points.
Nye first asked President Trump to focus on Mars being a realistic goal over the next two decades, and continue exploring the possibility of setting up colonies on our neighboring planet. He asked the President to stay clear of suggestions like setting up a permanent moon base because a base on Mars is a lot more important in the grander scheme of things.
He also suggested that sending orbital missions to the Red Planet is important, and that should certainly precede any landing missions of any kind. This was the same strategy used for the successful moon landing, and it makes a lot of sense to follow this protocol. Nye says that it would be ideal if we could manage orbit mars by 2033 and eventually land on the surface by 2039.
Increase focus and support
Bill Nye wrote very passionately about the need for our species to explore the cosmos and undertake missions that allow us to better understand our origins and the universe around us. He suggested that the government expand scientific programs currently being undertaken in NASA, and therefore offer employment opportunities to thousands of highly skilled scientists and engineers designed in excel in these fields.
In terms of budget allocations, Nye offered a five-over-five model to increase funding. In this situation, NASA would get a steady increment of five percent every year for the next five years. Nye believes that this level of funding is definitely needed if the organization needs to meet its ambitious goals. Nye also asked President Trump to open up to the idea of having a commercial space industry as it could greatly benefit the country and the world in the future.
Overall, it is clear that Nye had some selfless suggestions to offer President Trump. Every point, if heeded, will go a long way in helping America, and the human species become an interplanetary system.
