Luria highlights issue with proposed budget cut to NASA CLARREO Pathfinder program

The proposed Trump administration budget for fiscal year 2021 would slash funding for NASA science and STEM engagement.

The proposed 12 percent cut would impact NASA research into geology and climate, including NASA Langley’s CLARREO Pathfinder, which, of course, it’s the Trump administration that we’re talking about here.

CPF, which will provide the data needed to better understand climate change and protect against severe weather events before they occur, is currently on track to be deployed on the International Space Station in 2023.

Congresswoman Elaine Luria, D-Va., has been working in Congress to protect funding for CPF, and on Wednesday, she used the occasion of a visit by Vice President Mike Pence to Langley to raise the funding issue.

“I am glad the Vice President’s visit provided an opportunity for him to witness the innovation that occurs at NASA Langley,” Luria said. “I was pleased to see that the administration appropriately funded many of Langley’s programs, including work designing critical systems for the Artemis program that will propel the next generation of human space exploration. However, I was disappointed by cuts to STEM Engagement, which helps inspire Coastal Virginia students to become scientists and engineers, and to the CLARREO Pathfinder (CPF) mission. This mission will bolster our national security by giving us the data necessary to plan for climate change’s effects on infrastructure. It is my hope that the Vice President’s tour showed him the immense value of CPF and will cause the administration to reconsider its opposition to funding this program.”