[meteorite-list] Postponement Repeal sequester's cuts on NASA spending in public out reach

From: lebofsky at lpl.arizona.edu <lebofsky_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:39:08 -0700
Message-ID: <d57966c6318ce0441dd23414a417380a.squirrel_at_webmail.lpl.arizona.edu>

Hi Gary:

We are in the midst of a crisis here in Tucson. Don McCarthy has been
given a stop work order for NIRCam (James Webb Space Telescope) which has
affected the Astronomy Camp for Girl Scout staff and volunteers that was
to be held in a little over a week. While it has not been officially
cancelled (we are trying to get a waiver for it), we have been told that
we cannot pay for the participants to come to Tucson (the travel
restriction). Some have cancelled and so are out of pocket for the
cancellation fee and others are still planning to come anyway (but it is
not clear if we can even officially hold the camp). We hope to have a
go/no go in a day or so, but it is getting close with some people flying
out in 9 days. Hopefully we will hear from NASA about the waiver one way
or the other and see if we can still hold the camp and maybe even pay for
their airfares.

So, please sign the petition so that we can all get back to work and do
what we love to do: educate our youth and the public.

Larry

> Indeed Carl, the sequestration is already affecting not just NASA
> employees but NASA grant holders. A colleague who is organizing a
> conference on 'Catastrophic Disruptions in the Solar System'
> (http://www.cd8.hawaii-conference.com) in Hawaii is seeing a fallout in
> attendees because of restrictions on travel by both NASA employees and
> grant holders.
>
> Whats even more unpalatable for me is the sequester's cuts on NASA's
> spending in public outreach and STEM programs, my field. So although
> off-topic, because I teach K12 and undergraduates astronomy and physics
> through meteoritics, I would like to encourage all of you to please sign
> an e-petition to repeal the sequester's cuts on NASA spending in public
> outreach and STEM programs:
>
> https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/repeal-sequesters-cuts-nasas-spending-public-outreach-and-its-stem-programs/kY7Tw85q
>
> Because without funding for public outreach and science education today,
> how are we to inspire and nurture tomorrow's scientists, engineers and
> technicians?
>
> gary
>
> On Mar 26, 2013, at 6:28 AM, Carl Agee <agee at unm.edu> wrote:
>
>> As the "Sequestration" starts to propagate...
>>
>> Carl Agee
>>
>>
>> --
>> Carl B. Agee
>> Director and Curator, Institute of Meteoritics
>> Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences
>> MSC03 2050
>> University of New Mexico
>> Albuquerque NM 87131-1126
>>
>> Tel: (505) 750-7172
>> Fax: (505) 277-3577
>> Email: agee at unm.edu
>> http://meteorite.unm.edu/people/carl_agee/
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: Pulliam, Joyce N (6050) <joyce.n.pulliam at jpl.nasa.gov>
>> Date: Tue, Mar 26, 2013 at 9:40 AM
>> Subject: Postponement of the 8th International Mars Conference to 2014
>> To:
>>
>>
>> Postponement of the 8th International Mars Conference to 2014
>>
>> ________________________________
>>
>> The impacts of sequestration on the Federal budget have led to new
>> travel
>> policies that severely constrain the participation of NASA center
>> employees,
>> including JPL, and other government employees (e.g., the U. S.
>> Geological
>> Survey) in scientific conferences, including the planned 8th
>> International
>> Mars Conference set for July 15-19 on the Caltech campus. The current
>> fiscal environment is sufficiently restrictive that we, the organizers
>> of
>> the conference, have decided to delay the meeting for one year, holding
>> it
>> instead in June/July of 2014. We sought advice from the MEPAG Executive
>> Committee, which unanimously concurred with our decision.
>>
>>
>>
>> We were preparing for a general mailing last Monday when NASA
>> Headquarters
>> asked us to hold off and consider whether the conference could be hosted
>> electronically. This was a reasonable request, given recent success for
>> several meetings held via electronic media. However, after
>> consideration,
>> we felt that this would not work for the 8th International Conference on
>> Mars. This series of Mars conferences have at opportune times provided
>> comprehensive looks at our state of knowledge regarding Mars. They are,
>> by
>> design (e.g., broad participation, no parallel sessions, and yes a
>> captive
>> audience in an academic setting) meant to foster cross-disciplinary
>> discussion, integration and innovation.
>>
>>
>>
>> Although it was our strong preference to hold the conference this year,
>> the
>> meeting in 2014 will include even more results from Mars, including
>> Curiosity?s further exploration of Gale Crater, as the rover will then
>> be
>> well into the second year of its primary science mission. We have no
>> doubt
>> that Mars will remain in the news in the coming year, given the ongoing
>> orbital and surface exploration of the planet, and there could be
>> several
>> focused workshops or conferences in that time; each needs to decide if
>> an
>> electronic forum is appropriate. In the meantime, we will work with
>> NASA
>> over the coming year to obtain its approval for extensive participation
>> by
>> its researchers, which is vital to the overall success of a conference
>> that
>> is of the scale of its predecessors. We look forward to a full
>> conference
>> in June/July 2014 and hope to see you there.
>>
>>
>>
>> Dan McCleese / Dave Beaty / Rich Zurek
>>
>> 8th International Mars Conference conveners
>> ______________________________________________
>>
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>
>
> Gary Fujihara
> Big Kahuna Meteorites Inc.
> PO Box 4175, Hilo, HI 96720
> (808) 640-9161
> http://bigkahuna-meteorites.com/
> http://www.ebay.com/sch/fujmon/m.html
>
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Received on Tue 26 Mar 2013 04:39:08 PM PDT