Opinion

Editorial: Let's bring logic to NASA's budget process

It has been a special Houston pleasure to see the fruits of the successful landing of Curiosity on the surface of Mars. The technological virtuosity displayed by NASA's scientists and engineers throughout the Mars rover's journey has been simply wondrous.

And did we mention the pictures? We feel as though we've been invited to share in the unraveling of a great mystery that will be brought to us courtesy of Curiosity - now in brilliant color.

The Mars rover's mission has also offered a welcome respite from a political season that seems to turn nastier by the moment.

Alas, it is impossible to wholly separate the space agency from the bumps and bruises of politics, but we commend the effort by two congressmen to move NASA a little further away from the political fray when it comes to budgeting.

The effort is being made by Houston Congressman John Culberson, along with fellow Republican, Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia.

The goal of the bill being drafted by the two congressmen, according to Wolf, is " to take the politics out of NASA … and create continuity in the space agency."

Playing politics with the space budget wreaks havoc. As NASA Director Mike Coats recently told the Chronicle's Eric Berger, about two dozen programs have had to be canceled on his seven-year watch because of budget shifts. "It's just not an efficient use of taxpayer dollars," Coats said. Amen.

Culberson's and Wolf's bill would model NASA's budget process after that used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Doing so would make the agency less political and more professional. It calls for the president to appoint the NASA director to a 10-year term and would make the budget cycle multiyear rather than annual.

The notion has Coats' endorsement. He notes that if they were able to plan out four or five years "it would be amazing what we could do with our team."

The success of Curiosity has brought the nation a welcome taste of amazing from NASA. We'd like to see more.

The logical next step is to align the agency's budget cycle with its projects, which tend to be long term in nature. Culberson is right when he says we have to stop "whipsawing" NASA and its people with politically driven budget changes year to year.

Now, while the nation's attention is being captured by the success of Curiosity, is a perfect time to push in a high-profile way for these needed changes.

To honor the success of Curiosity, and for the sake of all the other wonders of space that could be ahead, let's do NASA's budget in a more sensible way.