The Planetary Society

🚨This is one of those moments in history where you have the chance to stop a regulation that would fundamentally change how science gets done in the United States. Will you say something?

For 80 years, experts have decided which federal research is worth funding.

They review proposals and fund the best ideas based on merit, not politics.

That's called peer review, and it's a major reason the U.S. leads the world in science and space exploration.

A new OMB rule would take that decision away from scientists and place it in the hands of political appointees who would have final say over every federal grant, and every grant would have to "demonstrably advance the President's policy priorities" no matter WHO is in office. This is a terrifying new rule. But this isn't decided yet. The public comment period is open through July 13, that's tomorrow.

Will you make yours?

❗ IMPORTANT: You HAVE to make a unique submission on why this matters to you or OMB counts identical submissions as ONE. Please take the time to make a detailed comment, we give you instructions on how to do that at the link below.

Advocacy Action Center The Planetary Society is organizing a new space constituency that is educated, empowered, and loud.

The U.S. didn't always lead in science.

Before WWII, U.S. science funding was scattered and inconsistent. But major discoveries, only made possible by a government-wide approach to advancing science, won the Allies the war. After that, the U.S. government built a system based on the simple premise that scientists (not politicians) should decide which research was worth pursuing. That system is peer review. It's a huge reason the U.S. became the global leader in science and space exploration.

A new OMB proposal would undo that by giving political appointees final say over which grant gets funded.

But this regulation is not set in stone yet, you can submit your comment now through July 13th.

You can make the most impact by taking as little as 20 minutes to write at least 2 paragraphs about why you support NASA and peer-reviewed, merit-based science.

Submit your comments at the link.

Advocacy Action Center The Planetary Society is organizing a new space constituency that is educated, empowered, and loud.