Rory Kennedy urges Trump to focus on NASA's climate change findings "before it's too late"

Rory Kennedy, the niece of late President John F. Kennedy, has a message for the current Commander-in-Chief.

The 49-year-old documentary filmmaker recently launched a new film about NASA just in time for its 60th anniversary, titled "Above and Beyond: NASA's Road to Tomorrow," which explores the history of NASA. # 39; government agency, as well as the future can hold for the planet Earth.

Kennedy told Fox News that after looking at ways NASA is determined to protect our planet more than ever before, she hoped that President Trump would focus on the global climate change crisis, rather than reject it.

"I'll pay attention to the information they give us," she said. "I will take notice of these warnings. I would like to unite as a country and treat everyone as extraordinary people that we are, all of us Americans. I would say to all Americans that we are going to tackle this problem and work with NASA. We will pay attention to what they tell us. We will modify our policies to meet some of these urgent needs.

"We can do it because we have accomplished much more difficult things in the past and can overcome it. We're going to do this together … As John F. Kennedy said, "Do not do it because it's easy. We will do that because it is difficult. It will take some sacrifices, but we have an urgent problem to deal with. Let's all do it together. "

The agency currently has 19 different satellites in place. From a space perspective, NASA scientists can track changes in the Earth's environment, such as melting polar ice and damage to coral reefs.

"NASA has worked very hard over the last 50 years to help us understand the health of this planet, its climate and what humans are doing to change this planet," she said. "… They help us understand the global global temperatures of the Earth and their evolution over the decades. … They generate analyzes to help us understand not only what is happening on the planet today, but also what will happen to the planet. This information is foolproof. He is rock solid. "

Kennedy's film also examines the evolution of NASA over the years since his uncle delivered his famous 1962 speech at Rice University on his journey to the moon. However, it also explores the changes that affect the Earth because of climate change. Kennedy said the same scientists who build the Hubble Telescope are the same as those who insist that it's an urgent matter.

In a recent article in the New York Times, Kennedy and co-author Mark Bailey pointed out that NASA was "in the strange position of monitoring a developing global crisis" without Trump's support.

"Fortunately, Congress has blocked his government's efforts to remove four missions under the agency's Earth Science program, which monitors the planet," they said.

A new UN report also warned that the Earth was on the brink of facing devastating consequences, including extreme drought, food shortages and floods, unless an "unprecedented" effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Kennedy is not baffled by those who believe that climate change is not real.

"I think it's a very small number of people," she explained. "97% of scientists agree with that. It's very difficult to get 97% of people to agree on anything. I have now studied the current source material and I understand exactly how it resulted.

"They are NASA scientists. They are neither Democrats nor Republicans. They do not have a political agenda, they have a political inclination. They look at the data. What they tell me, is that it is absolute. Listen, there are people who do not think we've landed a person on the moon, so you're going to have people question everything. "

However, Kennedy's film is not a story of sadness. Although the film evokes some of NASA's failures, such as the Challenger and Columbia explosions, he also studied how his uncle challenged the space agency to land a man on the moon from here to the end of the 1960s.

"He had the vision of going to the moon because we, humans, are naturally inclined to be curious, to want to attack the next mountain and climb it up to its summit" , she said. "… He obviously had enthusiasm for his vision, but also for the leaders who convened the country to achieve this noble goal and for the Congress to support it financially.

"It was an exciting time in the history of our country. To look back and see how united we were with this great leadership that truly brought the best of us all and unified us as a country and as a people. How is this great? "

In 2016, Buzz Aldrin, the second man to have landed on the moon after mission commander Neil Armstrong, told Fox News that he was "totally convinced" that humanity should head for Mars. He even proposed a calendar to bring humans here by 2035. However, Kennedy said that we should focus on the Earth.

"I think there is a lot to be said about sending humans on Mars," she said. "I think it's a wonderfully ambitious goal. Personally, I feel that there is currently such an urgency about what is happening on our planet and why we are running out of time.

"These scientists should really focus on what's happening on this planet. From the space point of view as well as the research on what is happening here and the search for really effective ways to solve this problem, solve this emergency and deepen our understanding of this issue. I personally think [that] should be the priority. "

Kennedy does not exclude the importance of deepening his studies on Mars.

"What we learned during many missions on Mars with different robots, including Curiosity, is … there was water on Mars," he said. she said. "Mars looked a lot like Earth three and a half billion years ago. Or helped us understand our solar system … It's an endless list of exciting and revealing activities. "

Kennedy hopes that NASA's message and warnings will prompt Americans to take action, including Trump.

"I do not know if these scientists are Democrats or Republicans, I just know that scientists are doing their job and are among the smartest on our planet," she said. "What they tell me … is that we are on a train wreck. It's not a question of whether, it's a question of when. What they tell us is that it's very soon. It's happening now. So when you see … severe weather, these are the result … of climate change. This concerns me and concerns us all.

"We really need to invest in resources to protect ourselves. What they are telling us and shouting as loud as possible is that we have to do it right away. Otherwise we will lose the opportunity and it will be too late. "

"Beyond: NASA's Road to Tomorrow" is presented Saturday at Discovery. Associated Press contributed to this report.