NASA Chandra: Space telescope operations at risk due to lack of funding

When you think about Space telescopes The first names that come to mind might be Webb and Hubble. In fact, there have been and continue to be many space telescopes that have provided and will provide very important data for understanding the universe. The possibility of obtaining information at different wavelengths and with greater resolution than ever before allows us to get a complete and more complex picture of what is happening around us. However, these operations have a cost and the US space agency can reduce those costs. NASA ChandraAnd Space telescope Which reveals who I am X ray.

In collaboration with Hubble and WEB (infrared/visible/ultraviolet and infrared, respectively), Chandra Allows you to detect emissions X ray A particularly active phenomenon that is part of “The Great Watchers” from NASA. In the space agency's budget proposal for fiscal year 2025, we read how money spent on this observatory would rise from $68.3 million (in 2023) to $41.1 million (in 2025) and then continue to rise, reaching $5.2 million by fiscal year 2029.

This would significantly reduce operations NASA Chandra (Launched July 23, 1999). American astronomers also raised several protests against these choices by the agency Patrick Slane (Space Telescope Operations Manager) to write Open letter To the scientific community. According to the space agency, the space telescope's performance will decline over time, increasing management costs.

We are talking in particular about high temperatures and difficulty in programming operations. The decline began in 2005, but observations have continued for (almost) 20 years from that point on. Slane It emphasizes how, thanks to the work of engineers, it was possible not to have a significant decline in the quality of observations, beyond the initial requirements of the mission.

Is NASA's Chandra space telescope in danger?

The COO added that as well “There is nothing in the evolution of Chandra's temperature behavior that makes data processing more complicated.” (Also supported by NASA). Not just in general Slane Opposes the end of operations NASA ChandraBut more generally other scientists who believe the data have been collected beforeX-ray observatory Essential, taking into account that the replacement is neither under construction nor planned.

In fact the biggest problem seems to be the budget NASA Too small to handle all the planned operations and future missions (the Artemis and Mars Sample Return Program will require a lot of funding). Senior executive officials NASA They stated that the reduction in the overall budget had put them under pressure and had to make difficult choices.

Nicola Fox (NASA Associate Administrator) Then he added that There is no will to cancel NASA Chandra But to make it work more efficiently. Now we will move on to another review (although the budget request has not yet been approved) to understand how expensive but useful operations are allowed to co-exist with the relatively little money that the central government has decided to allocate. Hubble could also be affected, which would range from $98.3 million in funding for fiscal year 2024 to $8.9 million for the new proposal.

To support NASA Chandra operations It was also created website To this Which attempts to explain why this telescope is still important and what (American) citizens can do to try to persuade Congress to act differently than expected. Losing a scientific instrument is always an unpleasant moment, but if the problem is not at the technical level (as is the case at NASA Ingenuity) but at the budget level, the problem will certainly be unpleasant.