Subcommittee Discusses NASA’s Planetary Science
(Washington, DC) – Today, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Space held a hearing to review numerous issues facing planetary exploration of the solar system and to discuss H.R. 5063, the American Space Technology for Exploring Resource Opportunities in Deep Space (ASTEROIDS) Act. The bill concerns space property rights related to asteroid mining.
Ranking Member Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) said in her opening statement, “The accomplishments in planetary science research and robotic exploration of the solar system are indicative of the exemplary work being done by NASA and its industry contractors, academia, and the non-governmental entities that comprise the planetary science community. The discoveries and advancements being enabled by NASA’s planetary science program are thrilling and we are getting real value from our investments in planetary science. Because a strong planetary science program is important not only to advancing our scientific understanding of the solar system, but also to detecting potentially hazardous near-Earth objects, providing scientific insights relevant to the long-term goal of sending humans to Mars, and to the training of our future scientists and engineers. And I can’t underscore enough the importance of NASA’s programs, including planetary science, to inspiring the next generation.”
Ranking Member of the Full Committee, Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) said, “Hearings such as today’s provide a clear reminder of the amazing advances that are possible when this nation makes a sustained commitment to investing in research and development. It is not an overstatement to say that the planetary science missions that will be discussed today would have been considered the stuff of science fiction not too many years ago. As I speak, a spacecraft is circling the planet Saturn and imaging its moons, and a robotic rover is preparing to climb a mountain on Mars and even attempt to image a comet that will be visible in the Martian sky. A spacecraft is on its way to Pluto, and we are discovering and tracking asteroids that could potentially threaten the Earth. We are living in a wonderful time of scientific exploration and I look forward to hearing more about NASA’s planetary science program this morning. But we also need to hear about what problems need to be addressed to ensure that this record of achievement can continue.”
Members and witnesses discussed the National Academies planetary science decadal survey and the goals outlined in it; current and future mission plans; facilitating commercial contributions to planetary science; the challenges due to low inventories of Plutonium-238; the importance of education and public outreach; the importance of a sample caching system as a focus of the Mars 2020 rover mission; how funding changes have influenced international collaborations; and the synergy between robotic and human Mars exploration missions. Witnesses also stressed the importance of consistent funding for planetary science in order to be able to complete planetary science missions in an efficient manner.
Dr. Philip Christensen said in his testimony, “The uncertainties that exist in the year-to-year levels of support have made long-term planning extremely difficult. Planetary missions require many years, or even decades, to plan, develop, implement, and operate. As an example, the Voyager spacecraft now on the fringes of interstellar space were launched in 1977 and their planning and development began even earlier. Without stable funding it is very difficult to implement these long-term missions, with the result that missions are either not begun or their development is extended, with a resultant increase in mission cost. The reductions and uncertainties in planetary science funding that have occurred have resulted in significant slowing of the pace of new missions. These reductions also pose the threat of significant reductions in the scope of even the highest priority missions. And these reductions have placed stress on the programmatic and destination balance within planetary science – there simply hasn’t been sufficient support to maintain the mix of mission sizes and destinations that had been the hallmark of NASA’s planetary exploration program.”
Witnesses
- Dr. James Green, Director, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA
- Dr. Philip Christensen, Co-Chair, National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science (CAPS), Chair, Mars Panel, NRC Planetary Decadal Survey, and Regents Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University
- Dr. Jim Bell, Professor, Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration and President, Board of Directors, The Planetary Society
- Dr. Mark Sykes, CEO and Director, Planetary Science Institute [Dr. Sykes is also an advisor to Planetary Resources, a company that is proposing to carry out asteroid mining.]
- Professor Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz, Professor Emerita, Director Emerita, Journal of Space Law Editor-in-Chief Emerita, The University of Mississippi
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