Sen. Ted Cruz pleads with NASA to stop focusing on Earth

WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- During a hearing where NASA's $18.5 billion budget request was considered, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, questioned NASA's objectives.

"I'd like to start by asking a general question," Cruz said to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "In your judgment, what is the core mission of NASA?"

"Our core mission from the very beginning has been to investigate, explore space and the Earth environment, and to help us make this place a better place," Bolden said, referencing the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 that created NASA.

Cruz disagreed, saying Americans believe NASA is strictly for exploring space. "I am concerned that NASA in the current environment has lost its full focus on that core mission," Cruz said.

Cruz's concerns seemed to express his opinion that NASA's focus on climate change was unnecessary and wasteful. Bolden defended the agency's focus on the Earth, saying, "We can't go anywhere if the Kennedy Space Center goes underwater and we don't know it -- and that's understanding our environment." He also said he's very proud of NASA's Earth-science program.

Cruz was made chair of the Senate subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness, which oversees NASA, in January.