Increase NASA's budget to 1% of the federal budget from the current level of .5% (only half a penny of each tax dollar!)

This petition is centered around our dwindling space program and our support of NASA. While our defense and economic recovery are important to us now, decreasing our investment in space and science will hurt us in the future in ways we don't even realize. We need to increase NASA's budget to at least 1% of the budget. This would restore it to where it was 20 years ago. That means increasing the budget to over 30 billion dollars annually after 2015. A thriving space program with large goals (human mission to Mars) can inspire the next generation to pursue a career in the sciences. Without that interest, we will be left behind technologically and economically. It can also lead to technological advances that will help us tackle our problems, such as climate change and energy dependence.