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CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Trump's NASA cuts will 'compromise human safety,' hundreds of employees say in letter
NASA scientists say pending cuts to the space agency could compromise mission safety and pave the way for another tragedy like the 1986 Challenger disaster. "When you're talking about cuts that appear unstrategic and unthoroughly researched and not motivated by actual improvements in mission safety, then you start to get people worried," Kyle Helson, a research scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland, told As It Happens guest host Megan Williams. Helson is one of 362 current and former NASA employees who have signed an open letter sounding the alarm about "recent policies that have or threaten to waste public resources, compromise human safety, weaken national security, and undermine the core NASA mission." In an email to CBC, NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens dismissed those concerns. "NASA will never compromise on safety. Any reductions — including our current voluntary reduction — will be designed to protect safety-critical roles," she said. $6B US in proposed cuts U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking a 25 per cent, or roughly $6 billion US ($8.22 billion Cdn), budget cut for NASA as a whole, and 50 per cent cut for the scientific research division. "President Trump has proposed billions of dollars for NASA science, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to communicating our scientific achievements," Stevens said. Helson says that's technically true, but wildly disingenuous. "That's like saying your bicycle is missing one wheel, but don't worry, you've still got another wheel," he said. Trump's cuts have yet to be approved by Congress, which holds NASA's purse strings. But in leaked audio from a NASA town hall meeting last month, several high-ranking officials said they will be moving ahead with them anyway. Zoe Lofgren and Valerie P. Foushee, the top Democrats on a House committee overseeing NASA's budget, have said implementing the cuts prematurely would be "flatly illegal" and "offensive to our constitutional system." The bipartisan committee has called on NASA not to implement the cuts. Fears of reprisal The open letter, called The Voyager Declaration, is addressed to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who Trump appointed interim NASA administrator earlier this month. Duffy's office directed calls for comment to NASA. The declaration specifically cites concerns that, if NASA continues along this path, existing missions will be cancelled, valuable scientific data will be lost, international partners will be abandoned, development programs will be nixed, staffing will be gutted and safety measures will be scaled back. It follows similar open letters by workers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the latter of which suspended 144 employees who signed. NASA workers fear a similar retribution. Roughly half of those who signed the letter did so anonymously, and only four signatories who currently work with NASA are willing to speak out on record, according to Stand Up For Science, the organization that helped organize this letter, and those at NIH and EPA. Helson is one of those four, and says he's only comfortable speaking because his work with NASA is in co-operation with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a position he says gives him more academic freedom than those employed directly by NASA. "A lot of my coworkers who are civil servants are very afraid right now, and so I want to use what I perceive to be my advantages in my position to speak out on their behalf," he said. "People are afraid that they're going to lose their job." NASA did not respond to questions from CBC about whether it would retaliate against the letter's signatories. The letter is framed an act of "Formal Dissent," a reference to a NASA policy that empowers employees to speak up against decisions they believe are "not in the best interest of NASA." According to the New York Times, the policy was put in place after the deadly 1986 Challenger and 2003 Columbia space shuttle disasters, when the concerns of some engineers were brushed aside. The Challenger broke up seconds into its flight on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board. The Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003, killing its crew of seven. The letter's signatories say they're worried that other policies designed to prevent those kinds of tragedies will be impacted by the cuts. "The culture of organizational silence promoted at NASA over the last six months already represents a dangerous turn away from the lessons learned following the Columbia disaster," the letter reads.
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Calgary Herald
There is a serious side effect to going to space, NASA says
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. NASA astronaut Suni Williams conducts an eye exam on the International Space Station. Photo by NASA A new study from NASA, conducted over several years of long-duration spaceflights on the International Space Station, has found that more than half of U.S. astronauts started noticing changes in their vision after more than six months aboard the ISS. Here's what to know. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 'Many found that, as their mission progressed, they needed stronger reading glasses,' the study says. 'Researchers studying this phenomenon identified swelling in the optic disc, which is where the optic nerve enters the retina, and flattening of the eye shape.' Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again The acronym-loving space agency calls the condition SANS, short for Space-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome. 'Microgravity causes a person's blood and cerebrospinal fluid to shift toward the head, and studies have suggested that these fluid shifts may be an underlying cause of SANS,' researchers at NASA found. A Canadian-led study with an even longer acronym — Space Flight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome Ocular Rigidity Investigation, or SANSORI — was carried out to determine whether stiffness of the eye, called ocular rigidity, contributes to development of SANS. It studied 26 eyes (or 13 crew members) that spent between 157 and 186 days on the ISS, and revealed a drop in ocular rigidity (33 per cent), intraocular pressure (11 per cent) and ocular pulse amplitude (25 per cent) following the missions. 'These findings reveal previously unknown effects of microgravity on the eye's mechanical properties, contributing to a deeper understanding of … SANS,' researchers wrote. 'Long-term space missions significantly alter ocular biomechanics and have the potential to become biomarkers of disease progression.' NASA has a study taking place now on the space station with a device called the Thigh Cuff. The ongoing investigation has 10 astronauts using tight leg cuffs to change the way fluid moves around inside the body, especially around the eyes and in the heart and blood vessels. That study is expected to wrap up next year but, if successful, the team behind the device says, 'the cuffs could serve as a countermeasure against the problems associated with fluid shifts, including SANS.' They add: 'A simple and easy-to-use tool to counter the headward shift of body fluids could help protect astronauts on future missions to the Moon and Mars. The cuffs also could treat conditions on Earth that cause fluid to build up in the head or upper body, such as long-term bed rest and certain diseases.' This advertisement has not loaded yet. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Other possible treatments have been considered. Last year, a paper was published about an unnamed female astronaut with a particularly severe case of SANS. Her condition improved after she started taking a prescribed B-vitamin supplement that was flown to her on the station; however, there was coincidentally a reduction in cabin carbon dioxide at the same time, so researchers weren't certain if that may have also helped. The good new is that SANS does not seem to be a lifelong condition. In an interview, Dr. Andrew G. Lee, a Houston ophthalmologist and one of the authors of the above study, was refreshingly blunt about the longterm consequences. 'Astronaut vision is super important, not only for their safety but for mission quality,' he said. 'It's really important not to have blind people going to Mars.' He added: 'But so far so good. We have not seen any permanent vision loss from any SANS case, and the treatment seems to be come home. So once you get back to the gravitational field of the planet it seems to just go away after a while.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here.
National Post
2 days ago
- National Post
There is a serious side effect to going to space, NASA says
A new study from NASA, conducted over several years of long-duration spaceflights on the International Space Station, has found that more than half of U.S. astronauts started noticing changes in their vision after more than six months aboard the ISS. Here's what to know. Article content What does the study say? Article content Article content 'Many found that, as their mission progressed, they needed stronger reading glasses,' the study says. 'Researchers studying this phenomenon identified swelling in the optic disc, which is where the optic nerve enters the retina, and flattening of the eye shape.' Article content Article content What is causing it? Article content A Canadian-led study with an even longer acronym — Space Flight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome Ocular Rigidity Investigation, or SANSORI — was carried out to determine whether stiffness of the eye, called ocular rigidity, contributes to development of SANS. Article content It studied 26 eyes (or 13 crew members) that spent between 157 and 186 days on the ISS, and revealed a drop in ocular rigidity (33 per cent), intraocular pressure (11 per cent) and ocular pulse amplitude (25 per cent) following the missions. 'These findings reveal previously unknown effects of microgravity on the eye's mechanical properties, contributing to a deeper understanding of … SANS,' researchers wrote. 'Long-term space missions significantly alter ocular biomechanics and have the potential to become biomarkers of disease progression.' Article content Article content What kinds of treatment have been tried? Article content Article content NASA has a study taking place now on the space station with a device called the Thigh Cuff. The ongoing investigation has 10 astronauts using tight leg cuffs to change the way fluid moves around inside the body, especially around the eyes and in the heart and blood vessels. Article content That study is expected to wrap up next year but, if successful, the team behind the device says, 'the cuffs could serve as a countermeasure against the problems associated with fluid shifts, including SANS.' Article content They add: 'A simple and easy-to-use tool to counter the headward shift of body fluids could help protect astronauts on future missions to the Moon and Mars. The cuffs also could treat conditions on Earth that cause fluid to build up in the head or upper body, such as long-term bed rest and certain diseases.' Article content Other possible treatments have been considered. Last year, a paper was published about an unnamed female astronaut with a particularly severe case of SANS. Her condition improved after she started taking a prescribed B-vitamin supplement that was flown to her on the station; however, there was coincidentally a reduction in cabin carbon dioxide at the same time, so researchers weren't certain if that may have also helped.
