Washington, DC Jan. 26, 1998 – After more than a decade, and just weeks before the launch of the first satellite in the project, NASA has decided to change the name of the Mission To Planet Earth (MTPE) project. The new name for the earth observing, climatic change space project is Earth Science Enterprise.
In justifying the name change, NASA Acting Associate Administrator for
Earth Science William Townsend said that its new title "more clearly
conveys to the American people the goals of our program, and more directly
focuses on our research." But the more likely fact is that with the project
facing an increasingly hostile Congress, NASA administrator, the
politically savvy Daniel S. Goldin, is moving to trim the project for
rough sailing in the FY99 budget hearings now coming up.
Only two of an originally proposed seven satellites, one of which is slated
for launch this spring, have survived fierce Congressional attacks on the
project thus far, as Republicans in Congress flatly deny the reality of
global warming data. Republicans are also increasingly urging the Clinton
administration to use commercial space resources to gather the type of
climatic data the MTPE platforms are to obtain. Goldin barely survived the
project's budget last year. Look at the name change as only the first part
of an opening salvo by the administration to keep the survey project intact
into the new budget cycle. Better focus, or political correctness? If the
project goes forward, does it really matter?
