#JPL: Cutbacks at Mars Sample Return. Bob Zimmerman BehindtheBlack.com
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
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🗓️ 11 January 2024
⏱️ 6 minutes
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Summary
#JPL: Cutbacks at Mars Sample Return. Bob Zimmerman BehindtheBlack.com
https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/jpl-lays-off-100-contractors-due-to-expected-budget-cuts/
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| 0:00.0 | Hey guys, it's Kate here. Now from nursery drop-offs to after-school clubs, there is always |
| 0:07.9 | something going on in the Ferdinand House, and that's why I love the gorgeous new |
| 0:12.4 | F&F Active collection. |
| 0:14.0 | It's super comfy and supportive and makes me feel really great when I'm on the move. |
| 0:19.0 | Check it out next time you're in Tesco. |
| 0:21.0 | I hope you'll love it as much as I do. |
| 0:23.0 | Eff and if active makes fashion sense, available in the majority of larger Tesco stores. This is behind the black with Bob Zimmerman. I'm John Batche from |
| 0:39.0 | we're going space exploring. But first budget cuts at JPL. |
| 0:44.0 | Bob, JPL is the source of miracles of robot probes these last years in the solar system |
| 0:51.0 | far in excess of our expectations of the man program but they're |
| 0:54.7 | cutting contractors why? |
| 0:56.7 | Well they say it's because NASA has told them to do so and it's because of quote an uncertain federal |
| 1:06.3 | budgets to the 24 budget year and they they said they've laid off a hundred |
| 1:11.5 | contractors to these expected cuts and they're almost all related to the very troubled |
| 1:17.7 | mall sample return mission which is vastly over budget and Congress can't make this mind whether to fund it or not and everyone |
| 1:25.2 | is saying they've got to redesign the program anyway because it's not well thought out. |
| 1:29.8 | And so JPL has laid off a hundred contractors in November and NASA announced a slowdown of work on MSR. |
| 1:36.8 | And it's interesting because the Congress here has not appropriated the money to demand to slow down. |
| 1:42.4 | So I think there's a little bit of lobbying going on here by both |
| 1:44.7 | JPL and NASA. This is a procedure they've done now for 40-50 years where they announce cuts to programs that the Congress wants and by cutting those programs |
| 1:57.8 | publicly they force Congress, they put political pressure on Congress to fund them. |
| 2:03.4 | They do this temporary cut hoping to force Congress to give them the money and then they have the |
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