WWU space science students travel to D.C. to advocate for NASA funding with Bill Nye and The Planetary Society

After years of learning how to be scientists in the lab, three Western students recently walked the halls of the U.S. Capitol to meet with the legislative representatives who hold sway over federal science funding. 

Kaitlynn LaCost, Marshall Lowell-Gonzales and Julia Olson flew to Washington D.C. to take part in The Planetary Society’s Day of Action on April 20, an annual day of advocacy for space-science funding. 

LaCost, Lowell-Gonzales and Olson work in the NASA-funded Mars Research Group and with data collected from Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity under the supervision of Professor of Geology and Physics and Astronomy Melissa Rice.  

Each student scheduled meetings with their respective legislators to advocate continued funding for NASA projects, and they attended drop-in meetings to reach those who weren’t on the official schedule. 

Day of Action volunteers were taught how to approach legislators in a way that would center NASA science in a context they would understand and care about, said Lowell-Gonzales, a physics junior who represented Washington during the Day of Action. 

This included sharing NASA’s economic impact, the learning opportunities NASA creates and how the space agency influences scientific discoveries both in planetary science and outside it.  

“It’s not all about the math, and the engineering, and getting these missions built, and getting this data recorded,” said fellow physics sophomore Olson, who represented her home state of California. “A lot of it has to do with convincing people that science is something that's worth funding and is something that's worth dedicating time to promoting.” 

Washington is in the top 25% of states receiving NASA funding nationwide.  Each year, NASA invests $25.7 million in Washington, generating $71.9 million in revenue and supporting 290 jobs. This includes funding 56 contracts and 206 grants. 

Across the country, NASA science spent $6.6 billion in 2025, and 76% of all congressional districts directly benefit from NASA science. 

“If you were to strip NASA of a lot of its funding, you'd be crippling a lot of communities, especially rural communities in the United States,” Lowell-Gonzales said. 

One of those rural communities is Montana, which receives $4.8 million in NASA science each year and was represented by one lone voice during the Day of Action: Biomathematics senior LaCost.  

Despite the “lonesome journey” of meeting with their representatives, LaCost said they felt empowered by the opportunity. 

“I had the opportunity to use my sole voice to promote science and drive for the reason why we should keep budgeting science,” they said.   

Lowell-Gonzales said it was uplifting to advocate for something positive, such as creating more opportunities like the ones he found at Western. 

“It was nice fighting for an opportunity that you wouldn't have anywhere else,” he said. “NASA creates a lot of opportunities for people who never would have these opportunities in the first place. I was fortunate stumbling upon Mars research here, and the fact that I could stumble upon it here is really huge.” 

The students said most of the legislators they spoke to were enthusiastic about NASA’s  impact, both scientifically and economically, regardless of which side of the aisle they were on.  

“It really shows how much NASA and space brings people together as a community. No matter political affiliation, support for NASA science is overwhelmingly bipartisan in both the House and the Senate,” Olson said. “It’s important to remember that at the end of the day, we have this thing that ties us all together: curiosity and desire for exploration.” 

Before volunteers met with their representatives, they gathered in front of the Capitol Building for a rallying speech by Day of Action spokesperson and beloved scientist Bill Nye. 

The students felt supported by not only Nye’s presence but by all the people who he inspired to pursue science, Lowell-Gonzales said.  

“Having him there — what he's represented, what he's done — I felt like we had a whole metric crap-ton of people behind us, supporting us, and it really wasn't just us doing it,” he said. “We were there for not just us but the people who benefit from NASA and for everyone.” 

But ultimately, meeting Nye and getting a photo together ended up being just a footnote in their day. 

“Bill Nye is an incredible individual, but — no offense, Bill — by no means was he the highlight of my time there,” Olson said. 

The true highlight of the trip was being able to meet with legislative representatives, advocate for science, and realizing that anyone could make a difference, Olson, Lowell-Gonzales and LaCost agreed. 

“Anyone who has interest in space can participate with the Planetary Society and can participate in their Day of Action,” Olson said. “You do not need to know Maxwell's equations, or quantum physics or the exact date that Perseverance landed on Mars for the first time in order to participate.” 

After their day at the capital, the team made their way to the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group conference in Baltimore to learn from current Mars and NASA scientists about the state of the field, research opportunities and new mission proposals. 

“It was a pretty cool experience to get to see two sides of research — the conference side of it, and all the work that needs to be done in order to get these missions funded,” Olson said. 

To learn more about Mars research happening at Western, visit https://geology.wwu.edu/people/ricem5 

 Mikayla King, ’17, covers the College of Science and Engineering and Woodring College of Education for University Communications. Reach out to her with story ideas at kingm24@wwu.edu.