Washington, D.C. - July 16, 2009 - Today, the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a hearing to examine how we can enhance the relevance of space activities to address national needs.
“Forty years ago today, Apollo 11 launched on a journey that changed mankind’s perception as to what is possible,” said Subcommittee Ranking Member Pete Olson (R-TX). “We challenged our scientists and engineers to develop never-before-used technologies to send humans on a mission that captivated the world’s attention and stirred humanity’s collective imagination. Our landing on the moon was the beginning of a journey, not the end of one.”
Olson continued, “Many Americans aren’t familiar with the wide breadth of space- and earth-related research NASA conducts, and the spinoffs that have been developed. To improve, we need to ensure that we have a worthwhile and challenging human spaceflight goal that is adequately funded, and we also have to effectively convey that America’s space program provides concrete solutions to solving a wide array of societal problems.”
The National Academies’ National Research Council (NRC) recently released a report that recommended a series of measures to better align the civil space program with national needs. One of the report’s authors, General [U.S. Air Force, retired] Lester L. Lyles said today that “The committee’s overall conclusion is that a preeminent U.S. civil space program with strengths and capabilities aligned for tackling widely acknowledged national challenges—environmental, economic, and strategic—is a national imperative today, and will continue to grow in importance in the future.”
Arguing that our space activities are already well aligned with our national goals and objectives, Ms. Patti Grace Smith, a member of the Board of Directors for The Space Foundation, said that “Whether decision makers realize it or not, many of our goals and objectives depend on and are enabled by space assets.”
Both Members and witnesses discussed the need for a challenging goal in space, saying that the progress we make in achieving that goal will inherently have real-world application. Ms. Debbie Adler Myers, General Manager of Science Channel Discovery Communications, said that “We bring science to life by making it relevant to people’s everyday lives, celebrating the ingenuity in all of us… if you capture people’s imaginations, they will connect and engage.”
Echoing the need for NASA to engage the public in its space endeavors, a long-time space advocate and journalist, Mr. Miles O’Brien, said that “Public affairs should always be a mission requirement… The TV cameras are worth their weight in gold because they let the public participate in the exploration. And let’s not forget who pays the bills.”
O’Brien concluded saying, “There is no doubt the mission is the message - and NASA needs to be taking us places where we have not been before to capture the fancy of a jaded public.”
To read witness testimony, or for more information on today’s hearing, visit the GOP Science and Technology Committee website.
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