Aging, overworked and underfunded: NASA faces a dire future, according to experts

[Zorro]

Aging infrastructure, short-term thinking, and ambitions that far outstrip its funding are just a few of the problems threatening the future of America’s vaunted civil space agency, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

In a report commissioned by Congress and released this week, experts said that a number of the agency’s technological resources are suffering, including the Deep Space Network — an international collection of giant radio antennas that is overseen by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge.

Report authors warned that NASA has, for too long, prioritized near-term missions at the cost of long-term investments in its infrastructure, workforce and technology.

“The inevitable consequence of such a strategy is to erode those essential capabilities that led to the organization’s greatness in the first place and that underpin its future potential,” the report said.

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2024-09-12/report-warns-of-dire-times-ahead-for-nasa

[hunter]

1. There's are more detailed, non-paywalled articles here:

https://www.flyingmag.com/modern/report-to-congress-shortsighted-aging-nasa-faces-uncertain-future/

https://nasawatch.com/procurement/nas-report-cites-significant-issues-affecting-nasas-future-viability/

The full report is free for an email address.

My own personal take is still controversial -- that sending humans into space is entirely pointless. Anything useful humans can do in space robots can do better and at far less expense. Humans are incredibly fragile. Keeping them alive and functional in space consumes a lot of resources and the adverse environmental impacts here on earth are huge.

Star Trek is a fantasy. Natural born humans are never going to have a significant presence in space. Faster-than-light travel and reactionless space drives may not be achievable in this universe.

Humanity will probably land a few more humans on the moon, and with any luck return them safely to earth, and that will be the end of human space exploration for the next millennia at least, or maybe forever if we are unable to hold our current world civilization together.

Eventually humans will learn that the most valuable thing in this solar system is our planet's biosphere. If we don't learn that lesson soon we will not survive.

If I was emperor of the U.S.A. I'd eliminate human space exploration from NASA's budget.

Let Elon Musk and China put on their shows. It will all be over soon enough, hopefully without any horrifying consequences, and then we can get on with the business of exploring our universe with increasingly sophisticated robots.

[roscoeroscoe]

2. Well Hunter, beg to differ

Space is hard, no doubt. As a member of the National Space Society, I know very well you are right about the difficulties. However, I think our future calls to us, here on Earth and in space. We're not designed to just... not. Not go.

You should see the kids that come to space conferences, and work on space projects. NSS supports a group of young students across the country who have put missions in space, working with NASA, and payloads destined for the Moon.