As chief executive of the Planetary Society, Bill Nye has become a vocal opponent of the proposed $300 million in cuts to NASA’s planetary exploration budget, CNN reports.
“Investment in space stimulates society,” Nye said. “It stimulates it economically, it stimulates it intellectually, and it gives us all passion. Everyone, red state, blue state, everyone supports space exploration. So I understand the budget has got to be cut, but something has gone a little bit wrong.”
Nye said the United States could lose its unrivaled scientific expertise to plan and execute missions to other planets under President Barack Obama’s planned 21 percent cut in the planetary exploration budget. “To try to really land a spacecraft … on another world is really difficult, and if we lose that ability, it’s going to be heartbreaking,” he said.
