Interview

What is your career?

I work at NASA as a liquid propulsion systems engineer. Specifically, I work on NASA's Orion Spacecraft by
helping to develop the European Service Module propulsion subsystem.

What is your opinion on Nasa?

I love NASA. NASA is one of the few federal agencies that consistently has high level of support from the
public. I believe the money spent on NASA provides a good return on investment in terms of technology
developed as well as awe inspiring knowledge.

Do you believe they are overfunded, underfunded, or receiving just the right amount, And why?
The amount of money that NASA receives is determined by the President and Congress. NASA currently
receives approximately 19 billion dollars per year. This is a lot of money, but is a relatively small fraction of the
federal budget (~0.5%). I would personally like to see NASA's budget increased so that we can do more cool
things. Ultimately, it is necessary for the public to decide the overall mission for NASA. If we decide that NASA
should be focused on colonizing Mars, then we will need a lot more money than we currently received. If we
just want NASA to do continuing what we are currently doing, then our budget is about right. Without
significantly changing NASA's missions, I would recommend a 10% increase in the budget to provide enough
money to properly fund a lot of critical projects. If we want to really expand NASA, then we could increase the
budget significantly. There have been proposals by people like Neil deGrasse Tyson to increase NASA's
budget to 1% of the federal budget. To me, 1% doesn't sound like too much of a price to pay to fund NASA.
With 1%, NASA could accomplish truly incredible things.

What Nasa department do you believe should receive the bulk of the funding.
I personally like human spaceflight which currently receives the most funding. The current budget provides the
most money for human spaceflight, then robotic spacecraft and technology development, and then aeronautic
research. I think the current budget split is appropriate for NASA's mission.

What Nasa department should receive the least?

Currently, the Aeronautics division receives the least amount of funding, and I think that is appropriate. In my
opinion, NASA's primary mission should focus on space, but we cannot forget that the first "A" in NASA stands
for Aeronautics. There is a large commercial aviation industry which has the resources to continue technology
development in order to improve safety, efficiency, etc of airplane travel without extensive NASA support.

What Nasa department is the most important?

In my opinion, human spaceflight is the coolest and most recognizable aspect of NASA, but all parts of NASA
are important.

Should the US continue the nasa program.

Yes. Like I said before, I believe the money spent on NASA is a good investment.