The number of cosponsors for H. Res. 550, a House resolution calling for an independent review of the NASA decision to cancel the last Hubble servicing mission, has now crossed the 30 mark. The Mars Society announced in an email message today that the resolution now has 34 cosponsors. A check of Thomas revealed that the official list of cosponsors has been updated for the first time since the resolution was introduced two weeks ago. The official list has 33 cosponsors; the discrepancy may stem from the Mars Society calling the original sponsor, Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO), as one of the cosponsors, or one more may have signed up in the last day. The list also shows that most of the Maryland delegation is now on board (no surprise, given that the state is home to NASA Goddard and the Space Telescope Science Institute.) Given that NASA has largely acceded to one of the resolution’s key requests—establishing an independent panel, under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences, to review the decision—it will be interesting to see if this resolution proceeds much farther.
