that question. >> the issue was discussed and in fact, president clinton said ito in said at the first issue president trump raise was election meddling. >> at the press conference, the president didn't highlight any maligned activities. so should americans believe that he is listening to your advice or that he's going his own way y when he's having meetings like he did with the president of russia? >> i think the president has made it abundantly clear to everybody that has response ability in this area that he cares deeply about it and

expects them to do their jobs to the fullest ability and he supports them fully. >> the head of nasa's science mission directorate and nasa scientists discussed space exploration at a hearing wednesday. senator cruise chaired the meeting. this is one hour and 20 minutes.>> good afternoon. this hearing is called to order. since the dawn of time, man has often looked into the night sky. and wondered what's out there? are we alone? and 300 dc, the greek philosopher epicurus assumed that quote, other worlds with plants and other living things, some of them similar and some of them different than ours must exist. the basic question of wondering what lies out there is one that

has driven civilizations to risk life and limb to explore not only this planet, but to venture out into the solar system. in 1977, nasa began an effort to try to better answer this question by launching voyager 1 and voyager 2. which were originally intended to primarily explore jupiter and saturn. each spacecraft carries a small american flag and a golden record, packed with pictures and sounds that are intended to be mementos of our home planet. 40 years after they were launched, voyager 1 has reached interstellar space and voyager to is in the outermost layer of the healy's- - where the solar slowed by the pressure of gas. as each spacecraft continues on its voyage and transmits scientific information back to earth, we are left to wonder,

if the great steve martin may still be proven right. that one day we will receive a forward response from intelligent life somewhere in the universe who received the golden record and simply request, send more chuck berry. the search for life isn't just a question of casual interest. it is an integral part of nasa's core mission. the nasa transition authorization act of 2017, which was signed into law by president trump. this committee offered and added a short phrase, to nasa's mission. quote, the search for life's origin, evolution, distribution and future in the universe. the atlantic has described the

addition of that short but momentous phrase as quote, a visionary one, setting the stage for a far-reaching effort that could have as profound an impact on the 21st century as the apollo program had on the 20th. since the enactment of the nasa act of 2017. we have more reason to be encouraged that we are on the right path. just before our last hearing, the journal of science published a report on radar evidence of some glacial liquid water on mars. using radar profiles collected from a satellite tween may 2012 and december 2015, scientists have found evidence of a 12 mile wide reservoir of briny water beneath the south polar layered deposits. just one month prior to the announcement of this discovery, nasa reported the curiosity

rover had found new evidence, preserved in rocks on mars suggesting that the planet could have supported ancient life. we are making progress as we search for life's origin, evolution, distribution and future in the universe. as we look to draft a new nasa authorization act, hopefully this year. it is imperative we not only continue to make progress answering this question, but that we also equipped nassau with the capabilities it needs to support science missions and priorities that would lead to discoveries across our solar system. this is a momentous time to be involved in space exploration. and i look forward to the testimony of our esteemed witnesses. now recognize senator mark, the ranking member for his opening remarks.>> thank you for having this extremely important

hearing today with this incredible panel. last week, we gained great insight from our witnesses on how americans will venture out of earth's orbit among the on the moon and onto the surface of mars. today, we welcome another distinguished panel of experts that will point us in the right direction. as we launch science missions into the void of space with the hopes of making groundbreaking discoveries about our solar system, our universe and our very own home, planet earth. currently, nasa's science mission directorate fund space science missions and research and a number of crucial areas including astrophysics, planetary science and helio physics. of all the portfolios within the science mission directorate that is often overlooked is earth science.

with deadly fires gripping california and greece, extreme hurricanes in the atlantic. and searing heat waves and droughts around the world, our investment and nasa's earth science and climate research programs and missions must be both abundant and unwavering. nasa's essential earth observation missions including the carbon monitoring system, the orbiting carbon observatory 2. and the gravity climate experiment, give us evidence that the climate is changing. if we are willing to pay attention, this information can help us prepare for more dangerous future. we must be sure that nasa's earth science program has the resources necessary to provide our scientists with the latest data so that congress and

agencies across the government can combat this problem head on. so that our planet earth to the home to many future generations to come. finally, we are very fortunate to have doctor sarah - - director of physics at mit. who is a coinvestigator on nasa's test mission. nasa announced only a few days ago that tests have been turned on and has begun its search for distant worlds. - - once said, the nature of life on earth and the quest for life elsewhere are two sides of the same question. the search for who we are. - - is one of the nasa scientific missions that will help us to find who we are.

my colleagues and i have great confidence in the space community, including nasa's team of exceptional scientists and collaborators. we look forward to the testimony from our witnesses this afternoon. again, we thank you all for helping us to understand better what our mission here in congress should be to help you accomplish this goal. thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you. i recognize the member of the full committee, senator nelson. >> thank you mr. chairman. i would point out that this science mission directorate, it's an incredible amount that they do. 30 percent of the nasa budget is here. and they are operating 60 missions on 80 spacecraft. it's vast. they want to unlock the secrets of the universe. you all have talked about the

search for life and improving life here on earth. and so legislation that we are putting together is to add the search for life's origin, evolution, distribution and the future of the universe. that's about everything rolled into one. so, this is one of the geewhiz parts of nasa. and it is complementary with the human missions of nasa. because one complements the other. can't do one without the other. it's going to be a real challenge for us to protect human life going all the way to mars. we've got to get them there faster than we get there now.

and we got to protect them from being fried in the process by radiation. but what we will learn in that mission and that development of technology is to sustain human lifee, will also complement and vice versa, the science mission directorate. so it's going to be an exciting time for nassau. thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you senator nelson. you talk about the danger of being fried in space. just yesterday, i was mentioning to my staff, the old tv ads. this is your brain on drugs. this is your brain with a side of bacon. they were too young to have any idea what i was talking about. please to welcome each of the witnesses today. we will start with doctor thomas zurbuchen who is the

associate administrator for nasa's science mission directorate. previously he was - - at the university ofmichigan and ann arbor .doctor thomas zurbuchen experience includes research and solar and helio spheric research. he's been in several nasa science mission including the ulysses space probe, the messenger spacecraft to mercury and the advance composition explorer. doctor thomas zurbuchen received his phd in physics from the university of bern in switzerland. our next witness is doctor ellen stoneman who is the director of the smithsonian arrowarrow space air and space .

doctor - - is the seventh person to leave the museum since apollo 11 astronaut michael collins oversaw its founding in 1976. and is the first woman appointed to the position. doctor - - previously served as nasa's chief scientist for three years from 2013-2016. in that role, she guided the development of a long-range plan to send humans to mars. worked on strategies to expand commercial activity in earth's orbit and supported nasa's science programs and helio physics, earth science, planetary science and astrophysics. prior to that, - - served as the chief scientist for the new millenial program at the jet propulsion laboratory in california. she received her phd in geological sciences from brown university. doctor david's verbal is the charles a young professor of astrology and professor of

astrophysical sciences at princeton university.my all moderate. for over two decades, doctor sparkle has worked on the interpretation and analysis of microwave background data to better understand the basic properties of the universe. doctor sparkle is the cochair of the science team for the wide-field infrared survey telescope. more commonly known as w first. he's been involved in many aspects of the mission and has contributed countless hours of work to creating a telescope that will ultimately let humanity see further into the universe than ever before. doctor sparkle received his phd from harvard university in astronomy. finally, doctor sarah seeger was a professor of physics and planetary science at the massachusetts institute of technology. a native of toronto, doctor seger has made unprecedented discoveries and has gone leaps

and bounds to expand humanity's knowledge in the field of astronomy. doctor seger's research has introduced many new ideas for the study of xo planets. in fact, she was part of a team that helped discover the first detection of light emitted from an xo planets. she is conducted swaths of research on theoretical models of atmospheres and interiors of all types of xo planets. i would note with all of these phd's, i think the senators sitting here are all badly undereducated. with that, we'll have our first witness, doctor thomas zurbuchen. >> chairman ted cruz, senator nelson and members of the subcommittee, the work of nasa is at the forefront of

scientific discovery and innovation. the questions we seek to answer affect humanity on a global scale and focus on our place in the universe. where did we come from? are we alone? questions that are well aligned with the topic of this hearing. later this month, nasa will launch a mission which will touch the son by actually flying the through its atmosphere. the parker solar probe is the first spacecraft designed to do so and will revolutionize our understanding of the sun's corona and expand our knowledge of the evolution of the solar wind. this mission will also make critical contributions to our ability to forecast changes in space weather that affect life and society technological infrastructure on the earth. parker will join numerous other exciting missions launched in just a few months. - - satellite launched in mid april and as nasa's next planet

popping mission searching for planets orbiting nearby stars. on july 21, it began conducting the first ever spaceborne all sky transit survey as its expected to catalog more than 1500 xo planet candidates. tess will detail - - and other missions. also launched in may, nasa's newest mars lander is now in route for a november touchdown. it will join a complement of rovers and orbiters at the red planet. inside its advanced - - it will provide unique information on the interior structure of mars and thus, other planets. collaborating closely with the human exploration borough at

nasa, we continue to use the international space station as a platform for great science. the - - instrument was carried to the space station by commercial - - mission. it measures agricultural water use in the united states and around the globe and will identify drought warning conditions. in fact, there's no program and nasa science that has more direct impact to everyday life than our earth science program as was mentioned. whether it's developing the tool to protect severe weather or drought or whether it's to understand the complex interactions of the earth system. what we learn here affects our lives. for example, in the midst of the 2017 hurricane season, data produced from nasa's earth observing satellites were used to support real-time decision-making in response efforts by fema and others. nasa also integrates science in

future human exploration goals with regard to the return to the moon and mars. establishing a new agency by lunar discovery and expiration program and leveraging nasa's extensive lunar science experience and data. nasa is jumpstarting commercial partnership, innovative approaches for building and launching next generation science instruments and the development of small rovers that will reach the most surface via commercial landers. with regard to the hearing topic, the search for life, planetary science provides some of the most exciting views of the unexplored worlds in our solar system. progress continues on the mars 2020 rover which will carry a small helicopter to mars but a first for humanity. nasa is planning for mars sample return mission. i top priority identified by the scientific community. during 2019, nasa will continue development of the cutting edge - - mission to fly by jupiter's

ocean moon. one of the most promising targets for finding life in our solar system. in many ways, nasa astrophysics and - - programs are working more closely together than ever. the search for life as will be discussed by the other witnesses here later. nasa is committed to answering the big questions and it requires commitment to new and challenging missions. in 2021, nasa observatories will be joined by the james webb space telescope. it will be capable of examining the first stars and galaxies to form and viewing the atmospheres of nearby planets, outside the solar system. the web telescope and instruments are fully integrated and performed superbly during testing, comprised of a tennis court sized sunshield and undergoing testing. in march 2018, nasa recognized

that it would take longer and cost more to develop than previously estimated due to issues of the spacecraft elements. i establish an independent review board to provide an assessment of the time and cost necessary to complete development. it provided valuable recommendations which we are all implementing. in conclusion, as we look forward to the future, nasa's science program will continue to contribute to the scientific and technological advancement of the united states and inspire future scientists and engineers to reach for the stars. i will be happy to answer any questions. >> thank you doctor thomas. >> chairman ted cruz, ranking member nelson and the committee.

thank you for the opportunity to discuss life beyond earth. as my esteemed colleagues will discuss, life beyond our solar system. i will focus on the search for life within our solar system. as a - - there is no other topic i find as exciting or as fundamental to future discoveries that will one day be highlighted in my museum as this one. all planetary science begins on earth. based on our understanding on how life emails here, it requires long-standing bodies of water. life evolved quickly once water stabilized which was about 3.8 billion years ago. we know life is tenacious, diverse and highly adaptable. astro biologists have found life in extreme environments like volcanic lakes, and the top of the stratosphere. microbes have been found under high levels of radiation or consumed toxic chemicals. we find life on earth nearly everywhere we look for it.

given the commonality of conditions here and elsewhere in the solar system, it is highly unlikely that life is unique to our planet. we know that the building blocks, amino acids are ubiquitous in the solar system found in comets and interstellar clouds. the next step is to identify environments potentially habitable to microbial life like those on the early earth with liquid water, a source of nutrients and energy. within the icy moods of the outer solar system, we have found subsurface oceans. jupiter is known and saturday on both have liquid water oceans that have likely been stable for over 1 billion years. they are like the interest by volcanic eruptions from the moon's rocky intercourse. a possible source for both nutrients and energy. both moons invent their oceans into space and geyser -like eruptions and could easily be

sampled by spacecraft without landing. the that sampled the liquid erupting from - - during a fly by and found the water to contain silica and organic molecules. all pointing to a habitable environment. that sample may have contained science of microbial life but the instrument were not designed to detect them.we need to go back to - - and to europa with better instruments. how will we know life when we see it? three years of peer-reviewed theoretical research, lab and field work, the astrobiology community has created - - [indiscernible]. the latter begins with a habitable environment with biomolecules, metabolism and darwinian evolution. thanks to decades of spacecraft missions, we know how to take the next steps in the search for life. at europa - - and of course mars and eventually titan

3.8 billion years ago, around the time earth life arose on earth, mars was covered in water. it remained covered before it lost its magnetic field and the conditions became similar to what we see today. a dusty service bombarded by cosmicradiation. if like default on mars during its wet , early earthlike period, microorganisms should be present in surface rocks. that's why it's astronauts, not just orbiters and rovers that have gotten us to this point are required. biologist, and chemist on the ground could do more than identify evidence of past life, they could study its. vision, complexity and relation to life on earth much more effectively than robotic emissaries. nasa could put humans in orbit

around mars by 2033 and down to the service later in the decade. this is completely feasible and affordable if the agency focuses on the capabilities and technologies required. putting humans on mars by 2030, 20 years from now is not nearly as audacious as landing on the moon in eight short years that the united states accomplished nearly 50 years ago. it has the partners and technical expertise as we demonstrate every day with research groups like those at air and space and the smithsonian observatory. it is extremely well scoped and study. we only need to accept the challenge. putting aside the amazing scientific - - of a mars shop. consider the political, cultural and historical benefits to this nation that came from the moon shots of the apollo program. this is another extremely exciting moment in human history. we know where to look and we know how to look. we have the technology to determine if light has evolved

elsewhere in the solar system and can easily do so within the next two decades. thank you very much. >> thank you. doctor spurgle. >> thank you for the opportunity to testify. i am professor of astronomy at princeton university and managing director of the flatiron institute in new york. my spoken remarks will focus on nasa astrophysics be my written remarks discuss the broader program and with the chairman position i make with my written remarks remain part of the program. a multinational program is the modern version of the construction of the great cathedrals of new york. - - are fundamentally long projects.

in cosmology, we've learned that - - is remarkably simple and strange. nearly a century ago, doctor hubbell working at the observatory began our program of measuring the size and shape of the universe. over the past two decades, we find a simple model with only five parameters, the age of the universe, the density of atoms, the density of matter and the properties of the initial fluctuations describe all of the basic properties of the universe. while successful, this model implies that atoms , the stuff that makes us up makes up only five percent of the universe. most of the universe is made of dark matter and energy. we don't know what makes up most of the universe. understanding the nature of dark energy is one of the most

compelling problems in physics. both europe and china are leading missions to study dark energy. when i was in beijing, i was impressed by china's plan to launch a space telescope with its primary focus on studying dark energy. ...

>> and to shape the telescopes of the coming century. and to have that atmosphere. and not only to image planets

but the steppingstone to develop technologies for the next generation. and with a wide range of observation and nose asteroid and those planetary systems. and to complete that with those programs. the outer regions of the solar system. these large projects are challenging. it is frustrating for all of us although it was painful to read at times it will not only be an observatory by the flagship of all of nasa and the eventual success will be a source of national pride and source of prowess. you caught a spread across the

agency board entirely the with a devastating effect on the future mission. despite these challenges it is an exciting time in astrophysics. with the discovery of thousands of xo planet and whose gravitational waves travel for millions of light-years and then have dark matter or dark energy this raises new questions about to address in the years to come the cato survey will provide an opportunity for the coming decade. i look forward to your questions. thank you mac chairman and

ranking member and committee members thank you for the opportunity to be here today. i opened with a quote from john adams would tell us with good reasons not only all the planets and satellites in our solar system but all the unnumbered worlds that resolve or inhabited so they believe that there was life everywhere. although we don't have for life beyond earth we are the first generation you know for certain the sun thousands of planets called xo planet and as we heard a growing list of solar system bodies with evidence of water including mars and europa and because water is required for all life as we know it they could support life. from other witnesses that is a i survey and next week to go

over as deputy science director and i thought you might appreciate knowing that that to find those excellent planet is from standard operating procedure. beth and with that capability to serve exoplanet atmosphere. this fight delays industry enthusiastic but will provide a first capability to study the search for life. and gases started to life on earth. and our planet would have no oxygen. it is limited to planet

because it is easier to find compared to relatively large stars like our sun. it could be very different from earth we actually had an event like this we are worried it could happen again and that would an electronic, disable the power grid. but we are hopeful that we could be naturally adapted to those conditions the ultimate goal is to have a star like our son to understand in that context for the search for life and this massive bright

star like the sun and the different is one part of 10 billion to see the planet directly this is the first with specialized optic so it cannot with giant xo planet that are known to exist. it is critical for the future for those ambitious mission. we do have a technique. * shade is especially shaped green with its own spacecraft and will have tens of thousands kilometers away does the hard work to block out the sunlight the only planet might

enters the telescope in the technical reason say why it can find her analog. it builds upon large antennas. nafta has a directed effort although it could happen sooner. with the dozens of new xo planet with the * shade that it wants to rendezvous on orbit and with those operational * shade and later by the star see him --dash * shade project recommendation. i am short on time so i will just move on that in 2010 i

became a citizen of the united states of america we are the worldly leader increased technology. it would science of life beyond earth. or on the planet. this concludes my remarks. thank you for your attention and your continued support for nasa missions. immaculate start off with a question to all four of you. why should we be engaged in the search for life? why does it matter in my should that be a priority for a space mission? >> that is one of the big questions of all of humanity

how they move just reported what they do for the citizens. that will be remembered forever because not only understanding more about nature but also ourselves at a level we have never had. >> so to give that probable answer than a 100% agree with i would like to focus when we try to do things that are hard like we did at the time of apollo when you push yourself that is when you push technology forward and then push the economy forward. so trying to answer the question to send humans to mars that is the investment in the future of our country i think that is critically important you mac i will add

another element that this is a question that engages everyone. kids in elementary school ask about or that colleges are engaged with. by asking this question we draw people into science and for the next generation to be part of this done education community. this is another of the side benefits. many of us do this because we want to know the answer. but we have the benefit questio question. >> most in civilian face science or national defense and national security here equivalent of that is the search for life and that

public search and when we do discover it will be the next generation to go into technology for the record through a bunch of research to come up with anything practical like gps your rely on that didn't come because somebody said i need a navigation system for my car. it turns out just by exploring we have unique practical and off long -- and off the mickey previously tweeted what is driving acceleration of the universe. what are the property exoplanet atmosphere's wax how does our galaxy form and evolve? what determines the architecture of the sub planet? u.s. should be the world in addressing the big questions is united states right now leading the world to address these questions and what do we need to do better to ensure that we are in remaining the

global leader? >> i think we are eating the world in addressing the questions at the moment but i see both excellent coming out of the european space agency that is watching a number space science missions that they are launching and one emission giving us new information that is on the cutting edge like astronomy. they are often partnered with us and many of the project. and i have been very impressed by the investment the chinese are making and space bar looking east. they were not even significant players ten years ago and now a decade from now, if we stop investing they will be the leaders.

unfortunately the technology you mac china can coffee but not innovate even the we put money into everything from solar panel technology to nuclear power in space we want to maintain a healthy budget for innovative. >> this committee is working on a new nasa authorization the first one that has passed in seven years and i hope we will pass this year. let me ask witnesses. what do you see the science related priorities that are to be reflected in that bill? >> and as the base study board

what we do is identify the top scientific priorities in each of the areas of the science director mission so when franchise science that is the top priority to go to mars. and followed by exploring europa to understand the process of space weather. in astrophysics with the current top priority we are about to engage in the astrophysics community with our process to get the proposed mission with the next set of priorities. i think we will begin by thinking about the key driving question with the search for

life and others will include upsetting the process of galaxy formation. and with earth science as mentioned earlier to understand the earth with space to watch the changing environment. >> the remarks started with the greeks and the planets in the priorities should be to orbit one of the nearest stars and that is a problem but that is something that america is leading the way * shade is not developed in any other country. >> we want to search for faraway planets but we also want to make sure we do the

work here on earth correctly nasa has been a leader in climate science to help us understand and to give us the most up to date data with mission with grace. so associate administrator if nasa's earth science research important to understand threat like climate science mac it is a very important program. your lien program that we have is very strong. with an increasing number of spacecraft last time i counted was 17. with all missions in orbit and yes i do believe that this very important program is complementary to the

government and beyond is important. >> will you make a commitment to this committee that will remain a priority for nasa in the years ahead? >> earth ryan is a key element of nasa and has been in the very beginning and i will make a commitment that we will implement everything that is appropriated here and that includes a stronger program and in that sense absolutely. >> (each one of you give us an example of how deep space exploration relates to or helps us back here owner. can you give us an example? we had gps earlier as an example. space exploration.

so here the 21st century can be relayed that to each of us in terms of the breakthroughs? the mac one of my favorite example is back to climate how we understand this planet's climate. if you put into the contacts to say emptiness or mars or saturn moon titan give other bodies that have varying carbon outside with different greenhouse gases so by understanding the climate is not just a birth compare the claimant suffer to other planets that has helped us to really understand what is happening here. in fact we first identified the ozone hole on earth after the scientist was looking at been and then came back and look at earth that is how that was first identified. >> another example that comes to mind is getting planet and

then looking at glaciers. and looking at the same physics with those remote streams of technologies i believe launching in september many of the same remotes and technologies when we visit planets from her own solar system as we do looking back on earth. one of the things that we see often in science is you look at one example you don't fully understand what is going on. we understood europe much better and we understood the process and observing things that are happening on venus and mars elsewhere. and now at the planetary system we now see the solar system is one example and to set back to understand the

physical process makes us we think. >> medical imaging is that we are familiar with and in astronomy we have to do the same thing in medical imaging can make a stronger technique. another brief one at the jet propulsion laboratory built the telescope in space to find planets they can point precisely 100 times times more precise than any other one in a category may not find planets but it can come from optical communication to pack more information than a radiowave and that technology will be used. >> personally i have been involved with in some of the announcement came from technology including

technology electronics that were developed in conditions on mars now routinely used in manufacturing environments to keep discharges from happening and many others. there is so many we could talk for hours. >> thinking mr. chairman and ranking member for holding the steering into all the witnesses today it is a pleasure to see you all like to offer a warm welcome to doctor brown is a -- is a brown alumnus and we recognize the first woman director. it is very important for girls and young women the women in science and having this 5050 panel is a nice visual. doctor would like to talk about the weather.

doctor harlan spent the oceans and faith at the university of new hampshire in is a world-renowned expert on these weather. he read the research group that studies physics of cosmic plasma from the sun's corona to interplanetary faith in the upper atmosphere using experimental and modeling techniques. openly to enhance our understanding of the rest of space weather can present to earth among other unique discoveries. that is why investing in space weather research is so critical. is nasa providing the resources needed with the action plan and national space weather strategy? >> we have started with that over the last two or three years. we have started to implement

some of his recommendations. not all of them are fully funded at the level initially foreseen and there is discussion happening as you know across agencies how we best do that for example coming up with innovative ideas for space weather data from collaboration between nasa and know what that were initially foreseen for that level of discussion has to go forward and to have a full implementation of this action plan. we could go faster probably. >> i move that as i understand it nasa funds science mission based on priorities set by the national academies of science which makes sense that there are obviously may be more applied reasons to fund space weather research so how does nasa go about balancing appear

science priority on the one hand and needs on the other when determining what research to find? that is an important question both with earth and planetary these objects are hurtling through space it can potentially affect us but in this case but the entire community is embracing the weather and the reason that guiding document it is an important part of the entire program actually has specific set of recommendations for your following at the same level as others so what we're trying to do in this case whenever we get such guidance with all the constraints and overarching policy. >> would anybody else i

comment on striking the balance and i can fortunately we are bound and you are right it is a science priority not national needs these priority. >> be involved in the process if nasa struck some to wait those priorities with those evaluation that is part of the process. >> nasa has the whole area where they are doing critical work to support farmers and cost information and i think that balance is important and critical. >> i just want to touch base and maybe we can follow up in

writing but i your remarks on the importance to diversify the workforce to make all of these critical scientific achievement possible can you comment how important it is best the early education as well as collegiate and postgraduate studies to ensure we have a pipeline like the four of you to carry on this important research and do greater strides for american space exploration? we don't increase diversity in science technology engineering math we are doing a disservice to our country because we are not tapping into the talent of all of our population. it isn't just something nice to do but something we have to do and focus on at the smithsonian that is one of the things i hope to do at air and space until those diverse stories to inspire that next-generation to be innovators and explorers

thinking very much and i thank you making members for this discussion also thing you for bringing up the space weather issue that is the issue university of michigan is involved in and working with the space weather research and now it is just cannot of the house committee recently but it was weakened as it came out of the house you want to strengthen that to make sure we're on the same page when it comes to forecasting the weather events which can be extreme. so we will ask you to talk about that my understanding is this is similar to our abilities to forecast hurricanes in the 30s which is not that great. we have gotten better but if we see in event.

lloyd's of london has estimated in excess of the impact on our economy is significant. it hasn't been enough coordination which is part of the access that is adjust that is adjust and all kinds of issues related. why is it so important we get going to make sure we have the space weather capability? you cannot of expert on forecasting but even like the earthquake in san francisco or los angeles waiting for the big one but also how we will protect our satellite and power grid. >> face weather is one of those elements of the research program in many ways that your esteemed faculty members would say the same thing that frankly when i did my grad

school it is not as prevalent as we think about it today the simple reason is we are further faced than than we were 20 or 30 years ago. so this has become much more important and yes we have made dry we are not going at the maximum stride possible. probably not if you look at that 2019 budget you see increasing in those areas to accelerate some of the work from this building and others. so yes we see to respond to that desire that you talk about because we do see the importanc importance. >> it isn't if we have a big event but when my understanding is with the big transformers as a result you can see for six months or one year.

so to read the transcript of the tearing look at new york city without power for one year would be catastrophic for our country this is an investment we need to be doing in a thoughtful way. >> so what practical application to come out as basic relation is the most practical example. >> you said basically looking at water-based life and mars had water 500 million years. that seems like a fairly short time considering how long it took on earth. why are you confident that is enough time to find something to remember what conditions stabilize the first several hundred million years they were hostile but once as soon as they stabilize within 100 million years we are first confident the first microbial life.

>> yo and argue that we is

14 million you could conceivably we confident we are

the successor to look at the planet. as you know the telescope was initially expected to launch 2007 cost roughly 500 million in iraq fitted to 5 billion now it has 9.6 billion estimate. so what explains that incredible increase of cost and delay in the point? one -- deployment? the myth that is what i'm asking myself and my team i can tell you

what i think we have concluded already which are important questions that is more than one issue but first i would say the success of optimism they need to be optimistic if you understand how complex the challenges ahead but excessive optimism can be trapping you into a path you will regret later so what that means for me as a leader in the manager i want them to actually look at this as independent review to really get our arms around it. second i would argue is the confluence of ten new technologies that by itself is hard to guess how long it will take that together it is much harder. it is not ten times harder

maybe 50 or 100 times times harder because these technologies interact with one another so now i look at missions i understand how many technologies are there and trying to understand if we can look at these technologies before we lock in the cost. then third i think we are learning now the increase of the cost of return relative to the independent review board has to do with closing off with the work we are having their we are finding challenges to doing the work to avoid the impact of human errors that have led to the increase of cost. but how we manage and that process it is absolutely clear to understand the culture of

the workforce in many places. this is with the entire contracting community i would argue those are the reasons and the lessons that we learn to make has these massive cost overruns cause nasa to reassess the effectiveness for big projects like this? >> yes. we are talking about different types of contractors in a variety of ways. and that is the type nobody has ever done. it would be very hard to get a fixed price contract for our company and having been board member on some of these companies to understand why they want to do that so it is a matter to understand where the right about his that protects the government and

frankly in some cases a company may regret that. but in the cost-plus contract they are to manage as we go forward and learn new things to interact with the company can lead to a more optimized path and that procurement vehicles that we have such as services contracts such as the program which is totally different than anything else. because it may very well be they may not be ready. but yes absolutely. >> your written testimony state to maintain a defense program which include the near

earth observation object project. as you know earlier this year april 15 an asteroid named 2018 ea three estimated to be 150 feet in diameter was spotted at 118,000 miles from earth distance closer than the mime -- the the moon. what is the greatest challenge we face as a nation with planetary defense from asteroid? what steps do we need to be taking we don't have to rely on sending bruce willis to space to save humanity? >> i like that movie. [laughter] in 2019 have a bunch bunch of proposals to create the integrated program that takes advantage of all data sources with other spacecraft that are out there.

we want to integrate that to get the real inventory that is out there. here are certain parts of this data where it will always be weaker observing from earth. but we need to go away from earth because we cannot observe things coming out of the sun. because it is bright. we cannot see the bodies over us to get that we probably will have to have an asset that we currently don't have that is away from the earth to look back once we have an inventory the next focus is to really mitigating the effects to understand the effects and mitigating them and depending on the size and mitigation tools are different when mission we are currently working on is one type of

mitigation and an impact so to give it up on that in a target to bring that with those two challenges to be focusing on a proposed focus. >> last question. in addition to the incredible leadership of space exploration we have seen tremendous cooperation and collaboration in the climate sector. can and should now be doing more to utilize commercial partners and private capital as it pertains to the agency's science priorities? >> i will start with er continually assessing this in the way we do it frankly is to run experiments. for example, we are close to

finishing commercial data by constellation a small spacecraft that would provide a new way to get data into the earth community. some companies may be better or cheaper to build the spacecraft services the contracts and that there are several others posting payload we have three that is in the program we have a variety of experiments to see what is there and continue our commitment to make sure that we can offload what the private sector can do it is not our intent ever to compete with the private sector but to grow it and benefit from positive partnerships to

offload things that are possible so we can focus on the leading edge that what we have talked about. >> may be about planet labs but the seeds of innovation is private commercial industry because they can afford to take risks that nasa cannot so it is definitely the way forward. >> the ecosystem of potential partners has gotten bigger not just aerospace companies but robotic. twenty years ago i suspect nasa represented a significant fraction of robotics. today it is a tiny fraction of the nervous money going to self driving cars and of course factories i think there is an opportunity for us to take advantage of this to partner not only many small companies that are growing in factors like robotics and computer science to make it is

important for nasa to stay focused on what nasa can do and that hinges on building the next giant telescope to oversee we can make sure we understand this planet and getting humans to mars. >> let talk about mission --dash nasa's mission prioritization we only have so much money are you satisfied with that prioritization process? >> you have heard many times how the witnesses talk about the survey and it is a

structure we are forced to go by that any institutional structure around for more than half a century it is time to take a better look at it. i will not go into that now. >> will give you one because debbie first and other mission whole community field they don't have one mission and they will never be elected. those missions that are very complicated so are we had a place to have more focused mission but not try to do everything in one place?

and to do that in the current formulation also the comments of younger p all. they are the first to use instagram. for those who don't go the same way the new generation would. just like a kid from massachusetts. you are right. >> and that is being improved. and then to respond to look at the cato process as a whole into doing this for multiple

communities and with planetary science. and the process that works best in the mistakes were made. those made in the past he did not properly study something before the recommendations were made. if we were to go back in time we would prefer to build a telescope a decade ago and do other things. one of the lesson learned it doesn't go in as a powerpoint that were in the investment that the potential missions are studied and then to be

prioritized to know what we are looking at e.g. have that preliminary understanding of cost. mckay was allowed --dash that nasa watched going forward and the process was reviewed and given a lot of thought how to improve that but that was an important process because it allows the best science to come forward not the person who has the most connections or shout the loudest for me can retain our position. >> it with that earth science

with the broad input from the community clinic i am happy. a mac i am glad i'm not in charge of science prior to radiation. i don't know how to do it and then to the net should always be questions and be improved going forward. actually resonate with the common for example it is really fortunate that those first set of opinions are listened to because that is the physicians they come from different types of backgrounds

and priorities with the private sector to understand interface. that is really important. so as a community and overall i'm really happy be happy. i don't how to do the job without it. the makings to each of the witnesses for being here. your expertise made it so the record will remain open during the next two weeks. and with written answers as soon as possible. we are adjourned we are

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>> i had been a believer under the right policy to provide an economic opportunity we can grow the american economy at the store great which world war ii from the year 2000. i see no reason why we cannot replicate that with proper policies.

when oppenheimer brought first to berkeley and caltech and then to new mexico particularly in new mexico and had very little infrastructure. to put in the middle of this the federally funded facility that just transform the state.

make the testing done out here it has involved a lot of civilian uses -- as well. even today they are sounding rocket. and it is still a big program out here. like a lot of people said on my kids to read stories that

are disturbing or downbeat. that is not totally illegitimate that i want to choose when my kid understand stuff that could bring them grief that also they are 14 now. when we introduce them to the idea not everything is perfect outside of your all white suburb? . . . .