A Californian governor has vowed to launch the state's "own damn satellite" if President-elect Donald Trump scraps NASA's funding.
Governor Gerry Brown was speaking at an Earth science conference in San Francisco, with concerns about Trump's plans to cut climate research becoming a key talking point.
"If Trump turns off the satellites, California will launch its own damn satellite," he said to applause at the American Geophysical Union's annual fall meeting.
He also noted that California has advanced the nation's most ambitious policies for curbing emissions from power plants, vehicles and agriculture. The state's own work has helped drive national policy under the Obama administration.
"Whatever Washington thinks they're doing, California is the future," Brown said.
Scientists held a rally outside the meeting this week, vowing to "stand up for science" if the Trump administration hinders their work.
Scientists hold signs during a rally in conjunction with the American Geophysical Union's fall meeting Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in San Francisco. Image: Marcio Jose Sanchez AP/Press Association Images
In an era of fake news, scientists are being encouraged to show a unified front.
"We will not stand for attacks on science!" Beka Economopoulos, an activist and director of the Natural History Museum said, kicking off the rally full of Earth and space researchers and other activists and supporters.
It's been indicated that the incoming Trump administration will target NASA's $2 billion Earth science division, which is responsible for gathering data on everything from rising surface temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions to retreating glaciers, shifting rainfall patterns and changes in vegetation.