AAS Congressional Visits Day 2026 & The Unknowns of Science (Policy)

The deadline to sign up for AAS Congressional Visits Day is fast approaching (February 1, 2026). In today's crosspost, Cecilia Ochoa, a PhD student at the University of California, Riverside, writes about her experience as an AAS science policy advocate in 2025.

Representative Mark Takano and Cecilia Ochoa.
Photo: AAS

Ochoa says, "After a day of running between the House and the Senate, I left with a sense that I had done something to protect the funding for my research, but that the work is far from over. While this year's CVD primarily focused on advocating for science funding, there are numerous other issues important to US astronomers, such as dark skies and space debris, that also require advocates."

Read the rest of Ochoa's experience as an advocate in The Unknowns of Science (Policy).

Learn more about how AAS volunteers can advocate for science and policy at AAS.org/advocacy.

Congressional Visits Day for 2026 are April 13-15, and applications are open through February 1. 

Learn more and sign up to be an advocate at AAS.org. 

Ochoa's article was originally published on August 5, 2025, at AAS.org.