Bureaucratic Politics

NASA currently operates weather satellites in Earth orbit, as well as similar satellites in Martian orbit. It also sends exploratory craft to other planets, to study their atmospheres, as often as the budget allows. Going to other planets is what NASA should be-- and wants to be-- all about. Another federal agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is charged with studying the environment of Earth.

Here's a thought.

Have NASA launch and maintain federal weather satellites-- that's what NASA does best-- but once the satellites are in orbit, transfer them to NOAA. That would give NOAA more resources to do its job (even though NOAA scientists clearly have access to NASA-obtained data now), give both agencies a stronger bureaucratic ally when the time to wrestle more money out of the political leadership rolled around, and allow NASA to focus on its main mission-- exploring space.

Just a thought.