Senator Ted Cruz believes that NASA is unnecessarily focusing more on studying earth science instead of spending more of its limited resources on space exploration. Cruz said NASA must not forget that the main reason behind its establishment was space exploration.

However, NASA chief Charles Bolden responded by saying that earth science and space exploration are interconnected. He added that the core mission of NASA is to gain knowledge of earth and space environment and provide means of making the planet we live in a better place.

Both the respected personalities were giving their opinions about what the outlook of NASA should be during hearing on Obama’s $18.5 billion budget (fiscal year 2016) request for NASA.

Cruz pointed towards a 41% rise in NASA’s budget to study earth science and a 7.6% decline in space exploration. NASA had to say Cruz is not the right person to give confirmation about those numbers.

Cruz’s argument seemed to target NASA’s effort to conduct studies on climate change. This is the reason Bolden talked about the threat being caused by sea level rise to Cape Canaveral.

“We can’t go anywhere if the Kennedy Space Center goes underwater and we don’t know it – and that’s understanding our environment”, said Bolden.

Bolden also appreciated NASA for offering support to the Texas soil observation, which has significantly helped local farmers in many ways. Bolden said that earth science missions conducted by the agency must not be trivialized, citing an example how NASA helped understand why Houston was losing elevation.