Bake sales held across the country to help NASA

Scientists are holding bake sales across the country Saturday to raise money for NASA in tough financial times.

Over a dozen US universities are hosting bake sale events to show support for the agency's planetary programs that are being cut in the fiscal year 2013.

The budget for the program is expected to be cut by about $300 million, reported AFP.

The students and professors do not expect the money raised to make-up for the hundreds of millions but they are trying to raise awareness about the cuts.

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"We're not asking for more of the pie, we're asking for less of a bite out of the pie," said Laura Seward, a graduate student at the University of Central Florida, who organized the event, said in a statement, reported Space.

"A strong robotic planetary exploration program is essential for a strong human planetary exploration program."

Along with bake sales, other events have been planned across the US, including car washes.

According to Space, the demonstrations are supported primarily by the Southwest Research Institute, a non-profit research and development organization.

NASA currently has several planetary space missions currently operating or planned, including missions to Mars, Saturn and Pluto, but it is believed that future programs could be threatened by the upcoming cuts.

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