Commerce, Justice, Science, and Re- Lated Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2020

COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RE- LATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2019

U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met at 2:30 p.m., in room SD–192, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Jerry Moran (Chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Moran, Shelby, Boozman, Shaheen, Manchin, and Van Hollen. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JERRY MORAN Senator MORAN. Good afternoon, everyone. The Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies will come to order. The complication of the afternoon, at least the one we know of at the moment, is that there are four votes scheduled for 3 o’clock. This voting thing is becoming much more common and makes it more difficult for us to do hearings and other things—and of our work. Senator Shaheen and I have agreed to forego our opening state- ments, which I assume will meet with approval. We do want to hear from the Administrator, and so I will recog- nize the Administrator for his testimony. We will figure this out as we go throughout the afternoon. STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES F. BRIDENSTINE, ADMINISTRATOR, NA- TIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman, and I appreciate that. We are here to talk about the fiscal year 2020 budget request for NASA. This is another very strong budget demonstrating this administration’s commitment to Space Exploration, not just Space Exploration, but also Aeronautics. A lot of people sometimes forget that the first ‘‘A’’ in NASA is ‘‘Aeronautics,’’ and I know, Chairman Moran, you know that all too well, being from Kansas. This is a really strong budget request. There are some significant changes that are going to come, and I know we have talked about that already. The budget request that is before the Senate right now shows that we intend to land on the Moon in 2028. Since the budget re- (1) 2 quest was put forward, the administration has made another deter- mination that instead of landing on the Moon in 2028 that we should have the next man and the first woman on the Moon in 5 years, if you can imagine that. I will tell you as an Agency, we are very capable of achieving that end state. In fact, technologically, everything we need to accomplish that is there, and in fact, the 2028 landing on the Moon included a number of programs that we were considering funding in 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028. Really, in order to move it up to 2024, the only things that we need to do are take those elements that were going to be funded in those other years and move them forward. Think of this as, in essence, a surge of funding for the purpose of getting to the Moon within the next 5 years, and this Agency is perfectly capable of achieving it technologically. What I am here to do is share with you the direction that we are heading now, but I will also share with you that we are not in a position right now to say what that budget number is or necessarily where the administration is interested in that money coming from. NASA has done some preliminary work. We are continuing to work with our partners over at OMB and our partners over at the National Space Council to come with a unified administration position that we can present to Congress for further review. That is where we are in this effort, but I think we are in a good place to go back to the Moon by 2024. This time, of course, under the President’s Space Policy Directive 1 when we go to the Moon, we are actually going to stay. The word is ‘‘sustainable.’’ He wants a sustainable return to the Moon, and so that is our intent. We want to go to the Moon with commercial partners, with international partners. We want to go sustainably to the Moon, and ultimately, we want to utilize the resources of the Moon. Well, what are those resources? Water ice, hundreds of millions of tons of water ice on the South Pole of the Moon. Water ice represents water to drink. It also represents air to breathe. It is, in fact, life support available on the Moon and hundreds of millions of tons on the South Pole. We also know that water ice, hydrogen and oxygen, represents rocket fuel. It is the same rocket fuel that powered the Space Shut- tles. It is the same rocket fuel when put into cryogenic liquid form, hydrogen and oxygen. It is the same rocket fuel that will power the Space Launch System, which is a critically important rocket for achieving the end state of the next man and the first woman on the South Pole of the Moon in 2024, which is the direction of this administration. I will not continue. I know that there are questions. I just want to say it is an honor to be here. I look forward to your questions and look forward to further discussions about the 2024 agenda. [The statement follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES BRIDENSTINE

OVERVIEW Mr. Chairman and Members of the subcommittee, I am pleased to have this opportunity to discuss NASA’s fiscal year 2020 budget request of $21 billion. This 3 budget represents a significant step in pursuit of the ambitious, long-term goals set for the Agency in legislation and in Space Policy Directive-1. NASA is going forward to the Moon. On March 26, 2019, the Vice President announced at a meeting of the National Space Council in Huntsville, Alabama, that, at the direction of the President of the United States, it is the stated policy of this administration and the United States of America to return American astronauts to the Moon within 5 years and that, when the first American astronauts return to the lunar surface, they will take their first steps on the Moon’s South Pole. NASA is laying out a plan to accomplish this charge and will submit a fiscal year 2020 budget amendment in the near future for necessary expenses for continued activities in support of establishment of a United States strategic presence on the Moon by 2024. Our goal is to leverage and build upon our existing work and plans to achieve these new goals. We are building a sustainable, open architecture that returns humanity to our nearest neighbor as the next step in our long-term drive to send humans to the Moon and on to Mars. We are moving fast; we are incentivizing speed, and we are going to start taking ‘‘shots on goal’’ almost immediately. We are completing development of Orion, the spacecraft that will carry humans to lunar orbit, and the Space Launch System (SLS), the rocket that will launch Orion. We are pressing forward toward an uncrewed test flight of Orion around the Moon and we are working to launch the Power Propulsion Element (PPE) in 2022, the first element of the Lunar Gateway, a spacecraft that will orbit the Moon and support future landings. Once habitation capability is added, the Gateway will serve as a reusable command module, supporting human missions to the surface of the Moon and giving us access to the entire lunar surface. Working with commercial partners and international partners, we seek to land humans on the surface of the Moon. We look forward to receiv- ing industry proposals this July and moving forward on an ambitious schedule. We are building for the long term, and this time are going to the Moon to stay. A sustainable exploration plan requires that we build within realistically available resources. We are designing an open, durable, reusable architecture that will support exploration for decades to come. Sustainability requires reusable systems and an openness to partnerships from across the commercial sector and around the world. We are actively seeking partner contributions and participation. NASA is working to identify partnership opportunities that widen the pool of resources, enhance sustainability, and advance our most important exploration objectives. Sustainability requires that we remain focused on the next goal beyond the Moon. Systems we develop for lunar exploration will be designed to contribute to a human exploration mission to Mars where feasible. Beyond developing, testing, and demonstrating the technology we need for the journey, we need to understand the des- tination. Humans have, in fact, been exploring Mars for decades. We have moved from landers to small solar-powered rovers, and on to large nuclear-powered rovers. At the same time, we have invested in critical infrastructure in orbit around the planet. With the fiscal year 2020 request, NASA will go beyond current capabilities to begin developing a Mars Sample Return mission, a high priority of the scientific community as well as an important precursor to human exploration. NASA has proposed establishment of a new Moon to Mars Mission Directorate, which will manage systems development and technology investments for programs critical to the Agency’s Exploration Campaign in an integrated manner, including all key lunar and cislunar activities as well as all technology development and demonstration activities. The Exploration Campaign relies on seamless collaboration across the Agency, including human exploration and operations in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and beyond, technology development, and elements of science, as well as the rapidly advancing capabilities of our commercial partners. It draws upon decades of experience and data from our continuing efforts in LEO. NASA has played a piv- otal role in enabling the ongoing and rapid expansion of commercial activity in LEO. Our commercial partners are set to make history—sending humans into space on commercially-developed, -owned, and -operated systems this year. This has been a long process, beginning with regular commercial cargo deliveries to the Inter- national Space Station (ISS); it will soon bring human spaceflight launches back to American soil. NASA is working to extend this success with commercial partners to the Moon and beyond. The fiscal year 2020 budget request supports our continuing efforts to improve the performance and safety of aircraft, crewed and uncrewed, here on Earth. NASA’s Aeronautics research is returning to the X-plane business; our Low Boom Flight Demonstration Project (LBFD) is working toward a first flight of the X-59 QueSST supersonic flight demonstrator in fiscal year 2022. We will push the sound barrier 4 once again, this time with the goal of making practical commercial supersonic travel a reality, while again helping to foster economic activity. Much of NASA’s current infrastructure was built to support the Apollo Program. Sustainability also includes the ability of our infrastructure, capabilities, and facilities to effectively and efficiently support our missions, while including sufficient flexibility to meet future needs as we continue to explore. This budget includes significant new investments in NASA’s mission support activities, to ensure that exploration in space is not limited by our capabilities on the ground. NASA also remains committed to exploring and discovering worlds that humans may still be many decades, or even centuries, from visiting. NASA robotic missions have visited all the planets of the solar system, and the Parker Solar Probe is preparing to touch the Sun’s atmosphere. While the long-lived Opportunity Rover has finally ceased functioning, the even longer-lived Voyager spacecraft has left the solar system. The search for life beyond Earth takes its next step with our planned mission to Europa. The unparalleled James Webb Space Telescope will open a new chapter in humanity’s ongoing quest to explore and understand our universe. NASA’s focus on exploration also extends to the one planet known to support life. Exploring the Earth as a system from space, NASA is our leading source of information on the how the planet works, how the climate is changing, and what the future holds. No planet is more important to explore than our own. With a fleet of spacecraft operating in orbit NASA will continue its world-leading role exploring the home planet. With the James Webb Space Telescope poised to look out into the cosmos and back to the time when the first stars were forming, humans landing on the Moon, and constellations of spacecraft exploring the solar system, NASA’s fiscal year 2020 request supports what is truly a golden age of exploration.

HUMAN EXPLORATION AND OPERATIONS The fiscal year 2020 budget request supports bold new steps in NASA’s Explo- ration Campaign. The United States will lead the return of humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations. The request provides the fiscal year 2020 resources NASA needs to develop the SLS rocket and Orion crew vehicle, as well as the other critical technologies and research needed to support a robust exploration program. The budget supports NASA’s plan to use a commercial rocket to deliver to cislunar orbit the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) as the foundation of a Lunar Gateway no earlier than 2022. The fiscal year 2020 request includes $5,021.7 million for Deep Space Exploration Systems, and $4,285.7 million for Low-Earth Orbit and Spaceflight Operations, including the ISS and Space Transportation—both commercial crew system development and ongoing crew and cargo transportation services that resupply the ISS. NASA will continue its mission in LEO with the ISS to enable exploration, while continuing to perform research that benefits humanity, supporting National Labora- tory research by private industry and other organizations, and working towards reducing operations and maintenance costs. NASA will create new opportunities for collaboration with industry on the ISS and develop public-private partnerships for exploration systems that will extend human presence into the solar system. NASA is working to transition our work in LEO, including our international partnerships, to be based on commercially-provided space station services that help enable deep space exploration and private sector expansion in LEO. To support this transition, the ISS will focus near-term activities on supporting commercial industry as well as meeting government requirements in LEO. In parallel, NASA is creating a focused effort aimed at long-term American operations in LEO independent of the ISS. Under the auspices of the ISS National Laboratory, managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science In Space (CASIS), NASA and CASIS continue to ex- pand research on the ISS sponsored by pharmaceutical, technology, consumer prod- uct, and other industries, as well as by other government agencies, such as the Na- tional Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Through the joint efforts of NASA and CASIS, the ISS National Lab has reached full capacity for allo- cated crew time and upmass and downmass. Space life and physical science research will continue to follow the guidance of the National Academies’ decadal studies. NASA-sponsored researchers will be a major user of the ISS and an early user of new commercial platforms as they: enable exploration with research in fluid physics, combustion, microbiology, food production, and animal models; and produce knowledge for use on Earth in materials science, complex fluids, and fundamental cold atom physics. Space life and physical science 5 research expertise will be shared with new Governmental, commercial, and academic researchers to accelerate their productive use of LEO for research and technology development and increase demand for LEO capability. NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) will continue to conduct cutting-edge research on the effects of spaceflight on the human body, including experiments that require the microgravity environment of the ISS. HRP will support the development of deep space exploration habitat concepts to ensure crew health and performance risks are adequately addressed. Maintaining the ISS requires service providers to sustain a regular supply line of both crew and cargo. Under the original Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contracts, our two commercial cargo partners, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Northrop Grumman, have provided cargo deliveries to the ISS. Using the launch vehicles developed in partnership with NASA, SpaceX has helped to bring some of the commercial satellite launch market back to the United States and has contributed to a reduction of launch costs. Northrop Grumman has begun to explore commercial markets by offering LEO missions for up to a year after their ISS cargo mission is completed. Under new CRS–2 contracts, SpaceX, Northrop Grum- man, and Sierra Nevada Corporation will deliver critical science, research, and technology demonstrations to the ISS over 5 years from 2020 through 2024. The addition of Sierra Nevada will add the unique capability to return cargo to various run- ways, enabling quicker return of cargo for ISS users. NASA and its commercial partners, Boeing and SpaceX, will soon make history as they prepare to launch humans to the ISS. Before the companies can begin regu- larly flying long-duration missions to the orbiting laboratory, they first need to demonstrate their systems’ capabilities through a series of flight tests. SpaceX’s uncrewed Demo-1 launched on March 2, 2019, successfully docked to the ISS, re- entered Earth’s atmosphere, and was recovered after splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. Boeing is planning for an uncrewed launch in August 2019. Through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, American astronauts will soon launch to orbit from American soil for the first time since the Space Shuttle retired in 2011. Further, for the first time in history, humans will travel to space on systems owned, built, tested, and operated by private companies. The recent flight of the Crew Dragon and upcoming flight of the CST–100 Starliner will demonstrate the enormous potential of commercial partnerships for the human exploration and development of space. The NASA and SpaceX teams are assessing the anomaly that occurred on April 20, during the Dragon Super Draco Static Fire Test at SpaceX Landing Zone 1 in Florida. Any necessary adjustments will be made and we will safely move forward with our Commercial Crew Program. Through the Commercial LEO Development program, NASA will continue to leverage its resources and capabilities to enable the development of a commercial market in LEO. The program’s first solicitation activity, which will go out in the next few months, will support the development of new commercial LEO platforms and capabilities. These partnerships will further accelerate the transition of human spaceflight operations in low-Earth orbit to commercial partners for NASA and non- NASA needs. NASA is building a deep space launch and crew system—the Orion spacecraft, the heavy-lift SLS launch vehicle, and the supporting Exploration Ground Systems (EGS)—to support the Exploration Campaign. The SLS Block 1 cargo variant will be capable of delivering Orion to cislunar space in the early 2020s. While more powerful SLS configurations remain an important future capability, recent delays in SLS core stage manufacturing require that NASA concentrate in the near term on the successful completion of EM–1 and EM–2 rather than split attention between EM–1, EM–2, and developing an upgraded upper stage. As a result, the pending budget defers SLS Block 1B final development efforts. The Orion crew vehicle will carry up to four humans to the lunar vicinity for up to 21 days, and when combined with additional habitation can support longer-duration missions. The Orion will also be able to provide key initial life-support and abort capabilities to Gateway. The budget request supports a planned SLS/Orion mission, Exploration Mission- 1 (EM–1) that would send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon. This would be followed by the first crewed SLS/Orion mission, Exploration Mission-2 (EM–2) and an annual launch cadence thereafter. The EM–1 and EM–2 launch dates are under review pending completion of independent assessments of core stage production and the integrated mission schedule. In early March, the Human Explo- ration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) chartered an assessment to evaluate alternate approaches for hardware processing and facilities utilization for key components, with the goal of maintaining an early as possible EM–1 launch date. To date the following has been concluded: 6

—The 45-day study identified production and operations opportunities that help provide some schedule savings for EM–1 while identifying minimal change to the risk posture. —An alternate assembly plan has been adopted to assemble the entire Core Stage in parallel with the engine section, then mate the engine section horizontally. Vertical final outfitting will occur at Stennis Space Center. This alternate assembly approach will result in reducing the time the vehicle will be at Michoud Assembly Facility by approximately 3.5 months. —Orion will remove propellant and consumables not needed for the mission; this reduction in Orion mass will provide up to 3 days of additional launch window opportunities. —Even with the changes described above, it will not be possible to meet the pre- viously-planned EM–1 launch target of no earlier than (NET) June 2020. NASA and its contractors are working to address the programs’ performance issues and prevent further delays. Next, an independent schedule risk review led by the NASA Office of the Chief Financial Officer will evaluate the HEOMD assessment to include the integrated, detailed schedule and associated risk factors ahead of EM–1. NASA leadership will review the results of these assessments in late spring 2019 at an Agency Program Management Council, before revising the EM–1 and EM–2 launch planning dates. NASA remains focused on the major risk areas associated with first-time production and testing of the SLS core stage, integrated assembly and test of the Orion crew and service module, and integrated operations at the Kennedy Space Center. The fiscal year 2020 budget fully funds the Agency baseline commitment schedule for EM–2 and the Orion spacecraft and enables NASA to begin work on post-EM–2 missions. SLS, Orion, and EGS are critical capabilities for maintaining and extending U.S. human spaceflight leadership beyond LEO to the Moon, Mars, and beyond and NASA is working hard with the program’s contractors to ensure the program’s performance improves. As a key part of the Exploration Campaign, NASA will establish the Lunar Gate- way, a small way station that will orbit the Moon and enable human and robotic missions to the lunar surface. The Lunar Gateway will support exploration on and around the Moon, and sustainable human lunar surface exploration missions by supporting reusable human lunar landers. It will be a temporary home for astronauts and will foster growing domestic and international economic opportunities for commercial logistics and refueling services, as well as providing robust communications with spacecraft in cislunar space and on the lunar surface. The PPE is the first element of the Lunar Gateway which will be launched on a commercial rocket in 2022 and placed in orbit around the Moon. The PPE will demonstrate advanced high-power solar-electric propulsion (SEP) bus systems that will support both future NASA and commercial applications. The PPE will supply power and propulsion for elements and systems on the Lunar Gateway as well as communication to and from Earth, other spacecraft, and missions to the lunar surface. The Lunar Gateway is intended to be capable of supporting human-class lander deployments and operations. Once the PPE and minimal habitation capabilities have been delivered to cislunar space, a crew of four—launched on Orion—will be able to visit the Lunar Gateway on their way to the lunar surface. The Lunar Gateway will be launched on competitively procured commercial launch vehicles and assembled in orbit around the Moon where it will be used immediately as a staging point for missions to the lunar surface. It can evolve depend- ing on mission needs, and will support human-class reusable landers, landing a crew of up to four astronauts on the lunar surface and ultimately developing sus- taining lunar operations on the Moon. This budget integrates the NASA Docking System (NDS) into the modules of the Lunar Gateway, reducing development cost and allowing NASA, international and commercial partners to easily dock with Lunar Gateway to support lunar landers (including reusable human landers), the Lunar Gateway itself and science objectives. Further, the early development of commercial docking and delivery capabilities will be essential for developing a sustainable and scalable lunar program. Delivery of Lunar Gateway and lunar lander elements, including refueling of these elements, will create a reusable hub for sustainable lunar activity and feed forward to Mars. The Gateway and lunar surface campaign will benefit from components being provided by International partners. The Gateway will be functional for lunar surface support with the addition of a utilization module planned as the next element after the PPE element. NASA is supporting the development of commercial lunar exploration capabilities leading to a human lunar landing. NASA is focused on engaging U.S. industry partners using innovative approaches to combine lunar robotics, a cislunar presence, 7 and lunar landing capabilities building up to a human-rated lander. NASA’s lunar efforts will incorporate results from the following. —The Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown (CATALYST) initiative, established in 2014, is encouraging the development of U.S. private- sector robotic lunar landers capable of successfully delivering payloads to the lunar surface using U.S. commercial launch capabilities. —Through Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), NASA selected nine U.S. companies to bid on delivery services to the lunar surface. Lunar payloads from a variety of customers, including NASA, will fly on contracted missions starting in 2020, enabling critical technology demonstrations and scientific observations. —The budget request supports commercial development of a large lunar lander that will ultimately carry astronauts to the surface of the Moon. NASA issued a solicitation on February 7, 2019 to seek proposals from industry for human lander system studies, risk reduction, development, and spaceflight demonstrations. These Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) will enable rapid development and flight demonstrations of human lunar landers by supporting critical studies and risk reduction activities, maturing requirements, tailoring applicable standards, and creating technology maturation plans. —NASA and its industrial partners are also working on NextSTEP habitation systems to develop concepts for cislunar habitats and to conduct ground-based testing of prototype habitats to evaluate human factors, validate subsystem integration, and test standard interfaces. The knowledge gained from testing the NextSTEP habitats will reduce risk in the design of the Gateway. Missions to the Moon and cislunar space will also serve as a stepping-stone, a training ground, and a platform to strengthen commercial and international partnerships and prepare for future human missions to Mars and other destinations. The fiscal year 2020 budget request provides for critical infrastructure indispen- sable to the Nation’s access to and use of space, including those provided under the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program, the Communication Serv- ices Program, the Launch Services Program, Rocket Propulsion Testing, and Human Space Flight Operations. Human missions to the Moon and Mars will require advanced space communications and navigation capabilities. SCaN’s technology development effort invests in leading-edge communications technologies to enable, improve, and mature spacecraft communication and navigation technologies. NASA is conducting studies to identify future technologies under development that can be infused to support NASA exploration missions in the 2022-and-beyond timeframe. These studies include Re- quests for Information and funded Broad Area Announcements to leverage the cre- ativity of industry partners through mechanisms such as public-private partnerships that will be central to NASA’s future communications architecture. NASA is also initiating a Communications Services Program, based on our successful Launch Services Program, which will begin work towards matching future NASA missions with communications services furnished by commercial providers.

EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGY NASA’s fiscal year 2020 request includes $1,014.3 million for Exploration Tech- nology to accelerate technology development to enable human and robotic exploration of the Moon and Mars and foster commercial expansion in LEO and beyond. Technology drives exploration with investments spanning the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) spectrum, advancing early-stage concepts and maturing key technologies and systems that enable demonstrations in relevant environments. Within Exploration Technology, NASA will accelerate development of lunar surface technologies through the Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative, driving new essential technologies required for humans to successfully operate on the lunar surface. Utilizing the 5-year horizon, NASA will transition key technologies through the ground demonstration phase toward flight demonstrations. The Lunar Surface Inno- vation Initiative will include the technology areas highlighted below. —NASA is developing the technologies to make use of resources available on the Moon, on Mars, and on other planetary bodies (in situ resources). This technology holds the potential to produce consumables, including oxygen, water, and hydrogen on the Moon, thereby reducing mission mass, cost, and risk of human exploration. —In order to address power requirements for long-duration human missions to the lunar surface, NASA is continuing work on its Kilopower technology project to demonstrate a small, lightweight fission power system. The Kilopower project 8

will transition into a demonstration mission in fiscal year 2020 that would per- mit long-duration crewed missions on the surface of the Moon. The Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative will bring together the full range of stakeholders, including entrepreneurs, academia, small businesses, industry, and the NASA workforce to catalyze technology and systems development. Additionally, computer systems for spaceflight are exposed to a hostile radiation environment that can impact performance and reliability. NASA will address this challenge in fiscal year 2020 by testing a powerful, radiation-hardened computer processor that will enable advanced precision landing, hazard avoidance, and auton- omous operations. NASA plans to launch two Exploration Technology demonstration missions in 2019: the Green Propellant Infusion Mission spacecraft, and the Deep Space Atomic Clock instrument will both be delivered to orbit as part of the U.S. Air Force Space Test Program-2 mission. The Green Propellant Infusion Mission demonstrates a propulsion system that could reduce spacecraft processing costs by replacing hydrazine propellant with a propellant that is less toxic and has approximately 40 percent higher performance by volume. The Deep Space Atomic Clock will demonstrate the potential of a 50-fold increase in clock accuracy for improved deep space navigation and improved gravity science measurements. NASA is working to an August 2020 launch readiness date for its Laser Commu- nications Relay Demonstration project. The project will demonstrate optical communications technology in an operational setting, providing data rates up to 100 times faster than today’s radio-frequency-based communication systems. In 2020, the Solar Electric Propulsion project will complete the Critical Design Re- view for the electric propulsion subsystem, and build qualification units to conduct qualification testing of the Solar Electric Propulsion engineering development units for the high-power electric propulsion string. The first demonstration of this system will be the 50-kilowatt-class PPE for NASA’s Lunar Gateway spacecraft. Other technology development that Exploration Technology supports includes critical technology for the Mars 2020 mission to be delivered this year; inflatable aero- dynamic decelerator technology which could enable high mass Entry, Descent, and Landing on Mars; and In-Space Robotic Manufacturing and Assembly, with the potential to revolutionize exploration. These and many more technology efforts are enabling NASA’s most challenging missions.

SCIENCE NASA’s Science Mission Directorate leverages space-, air-, and ground-based assets to answer fundamental questions about the Earth, the solar system and the universe, and our place in the cosmos. Our scientists, engineers, and technologists work with a global community of researchers to provide the scientific discoveries that advance critical understanding and inform decisionmaking. Whether through disaster response, natural resource management, planetary defense, or space weather monitoring, NASA provides tangible benefits that help protect and improve life on Earth. At the same time, NASA is leading the quest to answer some of most pressing human questions, among them how Earth and the universe evolved, how life emerged, and whether we are alone in the universe. The fiscal year 2020 budget requests $6,303.7 million for NASA Science, including $2,622.1 million for Planetary Science, $844.8 million for Astrophysics, $352.5 million for JWST, $704.5 million for Heliophysics, and $1,779.8 million for Earth Science. The budget enables NASA to continue advancing national science and exploration goals while maintaining its global leadership position through a balanced and integrated science program. This year’s budget request reflects a concerted effort to seek and execute new partnerships that will allow the Agency to leverage the innovation, resources, and know-how of the full breadth of the global science enterprise, including other U.S. and foreign agencies, as well as commercial, academic, and other non-Governmental partners. Science remains critical to the exploration goals of the Agency, contributing both capabilities and knowledge needed to advance human and robotic exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The Lunar Discovery and Exploration program advances an integrated strategy for exploration, not only through improved collaboration across the Agency but also by leveraging interagency, international, and commercial partnerships. In November 2018, NASA selected nine U.S. companies to bid on delivery services to the lunar surface through Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contracts. Lunar payloads from a variety of customers, including NASA, will fly on contracted missions starting in 2020, enabling critical technology demonstrations and scientific observations; most recently, NASA selected 10 proposals for the Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation (DALI) program, which 9 will support instruments that will fly on future lunar missions. NASA’s Lunar Re- connaissance Orbiter (LRO), which marks its tenth anniversary in 2019, continues to help scientists characterize the lunar surface, providing insights into lunar resource analysis that could support future human exploration. NASA’s Planetary Science Division develops and operates increasingly sophisti- cated missions to reveal new knowledge of our Solar System’s content, origin, evolution, and the potential for life elsewhere. With spacecraft in place from the inner- most planet to the very edge of the Sun’s influence, this year’s budget request rein- vigorates robotic exploration of our Solar System, supporting the long-term scientific study of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA’s robust Mars Exploration Program continues to achieve great things. In November 2018, the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander reached the Martian surface, marking the Agency’s eighth successful soft landing on the Red Planet. A robot geologist, InSight will yield new discoveries about the Martian interior, providing an unprecedented look at its core structure and heat flow. Cruising behind InSight were two experimental, brief- case-sized spacecraft named Mars Cube One (MarCO)—the first ever planetary CubeSats—which successfully relayed data back to Earth from the InSight lander during its descent to the Martian surface. The budget request also supports continued progress of the Mars 2020 rover, which—after an intensive effort to identify the most promising landing site—will head to the Jezero Crater following a July 2020 launch. A precursor to human missions to Mars, Mars 2020 will continue to search for evidence of life on the Red Planet and collect a cache of core samples. In 2020, NASA will commence studies and development of a Mars Sample Return mission—the highest priority strategic mission identified by the scientific community in the most recent planetary science decadal survey and endorsed in the 2018 midterm assessment—that would allow for the return of the Mars 2020 rover samples. Leveraging commercial and international partnerships, such as with the Euro- pean Space Agency, this mission may launch as early as 2026. Beyond Mars, NASA will continue development of the next Discovery missions, Lucy and Psyche, as well as the cutting-edge Europa Clipper strategic mission to fly by Jupiter’s moon—a first step in exploring ocean worlds and their potential hab- itability. And just this year, NASA celebrated the first flyby of a Kuiper Belt object (MU69/Ultima Thule) with our New Horizons mission. The data collected from over four billion miles away from Earth will help answer basic questions about the surface properties, geology, and atmospheres of these primitive bodies. In December 2018, NASA’s first asteroid sampling mission, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS–REx), entered orbit around Bennu, the smallest object a spacecraft has ever orbited. In 2020, OSIRIS–REx will have completed its mapping of Bennu, informing selection of the most promising sample collection site. Its measurements of this potentially hazardous object (Bennu’s orbit could bring it relatively close to Earth at the end of the next century), will not only shed light on the early history of our Solar Sys- tem, but will also inform the design of future missions to mitigate possible asteroid impacts on Earth. Built as a cohesive, international program for Near-Earth Object (NEO) detection and mitigation technology development, NASA’s Planetary Defense Program will continue to fund the NEO Observations project and development of a space-based infrared instrument for detecting NEOs with this year’s budget request. Meanwhile, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) to demonstrate the kinetic impact technique for asteroid deflection will continue to make progress towards its planned 2021 launch. NASA’s Astrophysics Division seeks to understand the universe and our place in it, probing how it works and peering into the origin and evolution of galaxies and stars. Through a coordinated program of research, space-based missions, and technology development, it also explores the formation of planetary systems and seeks to understand how habitable environments develop, a key aspect of the search for life in the universe. In 2018, NASA bid farewell to the Kepler mission, after 9 years of searching for planets outside our Solar System. Kepler discovered almost 2,700 new exoplanets, bringing the total from all sources to over 3,900 known exoplanets. Kepler’s legacy serves as the foundation for NASA’s next planet-hunting mission, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), launched in April 2018. TESS has already found 12 new exoplanets, including four new multi-planet systems. During its two-year primary mission, TESS will observe nearly the whole sky, providing a rich catalog of worlds around nearby stars, including valuable targets for the James Webb Space Telescope to explore. The 2020 budget accommodates the funds needed to support 10 the revised March 2021 launch date of the James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most powerful space telescope to be developed to date. Webb will join NASA’s family of observatories to examine the first stars and galaxies that formed, viewing the atmospheres of nearby planets outside our solar system and informing our understanding of the evolution of our own solar system. The budget request also supports operations for the airborne Stratospheric Ob- servatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a partnership with the German Aero- space Center; SOFIA will complete its 5-year prime mission in 2019. Flying into the stratosphere above 99 percent of Earth’s infrared-blocking atmosphere, SOFIA al- lows astronomers to study the solar system and beyond in ways that are not possible with ground-based telescopes, from almost anywhere in the world. In order to maintain a balanced science program that optimizes overall scientific return, the fiscal year 2020 budget request again proposes termination of the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), given its significant cost and higher priorities within NASA, including completing the delayed James Webb Space Tele- scope. The budget also enables NASA to fully support competed Astrophysics missions and research, and follow the decadal-survey-recommended cadence of new Astro- physics Explorers missions. By the end of fiscal year 2019, NASA plans to release Announcements of Opportunity for the next Astrophysics Small Explorer and Mis- sion of Opportunity missions for an initial selection in 2020. NASA’s Heliophysics Division studies the nature of the Sun, how it affects Earth and other objects in the solar system, and the very nature of space itself. Under- standing the Sun and its interactions with the space environment, including near- Earth space, helps scientists identify the causes and impacts of space weather phe- nomena, which can threaten spacecraft and astronauts, and affect human technological infrastructure and activities, both on and around Earth, and beyond. The Heliophysics Division adopts a holistic approach to the study of the Sun and its connection to Earth and other planets—venturing to the very edge of the Sun’s influence and beyond. In December 2018, Voyager 2 exited the heliosphere, the pro- tective bubble of particles and magnetic fields created by the Sun, a milestone only achieved once before—by Voyager 1 in 2012. In over 40 years in space, Voyager 2 has traveled a staggering 18.5 billion miles and is NASA’s longest-running mission. In 2018, several successful launches also expanded the Heliophysics System Ob- servatory, including the January 2018 launch of the Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) instrument, and the August 2018 launch of the Parker Solar Probe, which completed its first of 24 planned orbits around the Sun in Janu- ary 2019. Together with GOLD, the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) instrument launching in 2019 will provide the most comprehensive observations of the ionosphere—a region of charged particles in Earth’s upper atmosphere. In July 2018, NASA selected the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), identified as a priority in the most recent solar and space physics decadal survey, to launch in 2024 to study the boundary of the outer solar system where the solar wind ends. Also, in 2020, NASA will launch Solar Orbiter, a joint collaboration led by the European Space Agency, into orbit around the Sun in order to better understand the dynamics of the heliosphere. NASA continues to work with its agency partners to reduce gaps between space weather research and operations. The budget initiates the Heliophysics Space Weather Science and Applications project to further strengthen the feedback between fundamental research and operational forecasting needs by improving the transition of science results into operational products. The budget also provides for a potential new Small Explorer-class space weather mission. This will lay the groundwork for a future Space Weather Mission line to focus on resolving fundamental science problems required to improve space weather prediction, and serve as a pathfinder for observation technology for the National Oceanic and Atmos- pheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) operational space weather missions. NASA’s Earth Science Division develops and operates space-based and airborne missions that obtain revolutionary observations of our planet. NASA Earth Science works with the scientific community to coordinate and integrate measurements to improve quantitative understanding of our planet and accurately model Earth’s complex system of interacting processes. The program also teams with government and commercial partners in the U.S. and internationally to use the measurements and understanding to develop and demonstrate applications that will provide direct benefit to our Nation, and indeed all of humanity. In 2018, NASA launched two strategic missions recommended by the 2007 Earth Science decadal survey: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE–FO); and Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2). The twin satellites of GRACE–FO are continuing the original GRACE mission’s 15-year leg- 11 acy (2002–2017) of measuring the changing mass of ice sheets and glaciers and tracking Earth’s water movement across the planet. ICESat-2, the follow-on to NASA’s ICESat mission (2003–2009), is providing unprecedented data on the topog- raphy of ice, forests, and oceans. In November 2018, the Operation IceBridge 2018 Antarctic Field Campaign concluded successfully after flying under ICESat-2 orbits to validate and verify the new satellite’s measurements. In addition, NASA Earth Science is collaborating with the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to utilize the ISS for Earth observations. NASA Earth Science launched two low-cost, competitively selected missions to the ISS in 2018. The ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Sta- tion (ECOSTRESS) instrument is measuring agricultural water use, vegetation stress, and drought warning conditions. In December 2018, the similarly low-cost, competitively selected Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) vegetation canopy lidar instrument was launched to the ISS and is now embarked on its science mission to make 3D maps of the world’s forests. Launching to the ISS in spring 2019, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO– 3) instrument will continue measurements of the complex dynamics of Earth’s carbon cycle, increasing understanding of the regional sources and sinks of carbon diox- ide. The fiscal year 2020 budget request also funds continued progress of Landsat 9 for a launch as early as fiscal year 2021. As part of the Sustained Land Imaging program architecture, Landsat 9 will enable continuity of the critical, long-term land imaging data record begun in 1972 with NASA’s joint agency partner, the U.S. Geo- logical Survey. Consistent with the fiscal year 2019 budget request, the fiscal year 2020 request proposes termination of the Plankton Aerosol Cloud ocean Ecosystem (PACE), and Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory Pathfinder (CLARREO–PF) missions. NASA Earth Science continues to explore innovative partnerships and new approaches, including the acquisition of commercial data products from small satellite constellations. In September 2018, the Earth Science Division awarded contracts to three commercial data products providers. Through this pilot program, NASA-funded researchers will examine the scientific value of the data to help determine the utility of the private sector’s constellation-based products for advancing NASA’s science and applications development goals. The 2020 budget request continues support for the integration of NASA Earth Science efforts with non-Governmental partners through these and other activities, such as commercial hosting and new partnerships (such as the NASA-Conservation International collaboration announced in February 2018). NASA Science leads the Nation on a journey of discovery through its nearly 100 missions. In every step, we share the adventure with the public and partner with others to substantially improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) literacy and understanding nationwide. In 2019, the National Academies will conduct an assessment of our Science Activation program, which since its establishment in 2016 has competitively selected over 25 awardees, enabling more than 200 partnerships that connect NASA science experts and content to learners of all ages in communities across the land.

AERONAUTICS Aviation moves the world, and an efficient and safe air transportation system is fundamental to the future of the U.S. economy. NASA’s cutting-edge aeronautics research is delivering new concepts and technologies which will change the face of aviation as we know it, boosting U.S. technological and economic leadership in this global industry and creating high quality American jobs. The fiscal year 2020 budget requests $667 million for NASA aeronautics research. NASA is enabling quiet commercial supersonic flight through construction of the X–59 supersonic flight demonstrator, with a first flight planned for fiscal year 2022. NASA will then conduct a first-of-its kind, multi-year flight research campaign over populated areas to gather data about community response to quiet supersonic flights, enabling domestic and international regulators to establish a new supersonic noise standard. This capability will position the U.S. aviation industry to supply global customers with future supersonic aircraft products. NASA is collaborating with industry to investigate innovative technology for sub- sonic aircraft, including advanced wing design, transformative structures, propulsion-airframe integration, and small-core turbine engines. NASA also is leading research into new components, technologies, and powertrain architectures for electric or hybrid electric systems that can bring about revolutionary improvements in small and large transport aircraft. NASA’s work on the X–57 Maxwell aircraft—an all- electric, general-aviation-size plane—is already delivering important lessons to the 12 community about designing, building, and operating an all-electric system. Ground tests this year and flight tests next year will provide valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of electric aircraft. Building on these activities, NASA has begun a multi-year effort to solve the technical challenges associated with a 1-Megawatt (MW) power electric aircraft propulsion system—enough energy to power 165 homes. NASA will refine concepts and technologies and validate new electric systems through ground and flight tests. Re- alizing a practical 1–MW electric aircraft propulsion system has never been accomplished and is an area of notable international competition. To support this work, NASA has commissioned the world-leading NASA Electric Aircraft Test Facility (NEAT) capable of conducting full-scale ground tests of high-power electric propulsion systems. In addition to developing new vehicle technologies, NASA is conducting research to make design and manufacturing processes more efficient and reduce the time and cost to build aircraft. Next year, NASA will complete the Advanced Composites Project, a 6-year focused effort in partnership with industry to significantly reduce the time needed to develop and certify new composite structures for aerospace applications. In 2020, NASA will complete demonstrations of technologies to integrate operations of larger Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the existing National Air Space (NAS) as well as manage smaller vehicles safely at lower altitudes. Those efforts are providing the foundation for another major transformation of the aviation sector being led by NASA—creation of an urban air mobility (UAM) system that is safe, economical, and environmentally friendly to move people and packages in pop- ulation centers. NASA will begin a new Advanced Air Mobility project in fiscal year 2020 to enable the emergence of UAM. NASA is preparing a series of ‘‘Grand Challenges’’ that will provide a means to assess the maturity of key systems for UAM. Through these Grand Challenges, NASA will serve as a catalyst for companies to rapidly develop and demonstrate their capabilities, while setting the course for needed research and investment. Initial community response to NASA’s leadership in UAM has been strongly supportive. NASA research is enabling a transformed airspace system that supports efficient operations of all vehicles across these different market segments, and gives citizens the confidence that every flight is safe and secure. NASA will complete a series of Airspace Technology Demonstrations (ATDs) with the Federal Aviation Administra- tion (FAA), airlines, and airport operators to demonstrate new capabilities for man- aging efficient airline operations. A final high-fidelity demonstration of all integrated system capabilities will support delivery of the research and development results the FAA needs to advance NextGen capabilities and improvements to meet the FAA’s air traffic management needs. NASA then will turn its attention to new research to address the safety and efficiency challenges of a more complex airspace supporting a broad range of new users. NASA continues its investment in unique specialized facilities and experts who conduct fundamental research to address key challenges in hypersonic flight. NASA coordinates closely with partners in the Department of Defense (DoD) to leverage DoD investment in ground and flight activities to develop and validate advanced physics-based computational models as building blocks towards a long-term vision for hypersonic flight. At the same time, the DoD benefits from NASA hypersonics expertise, analyses, testing capabilities and computational models. NASA aeronautics research is conducted in partnership with the aviation community to transform aviation as we know it, and find solutions to aviation system needs that will provide benefits in mobility, environmental sustainability, and safety, while ensuring continued long-term U.S. aviation technology leadership in this rapidly expanding global industry. NASA investments are enabling the early stages of the future airspace system that will enable all users—from UAS to UAM to tradi- tional airlines—to seamlessly access the airspace and safely and efficiently, with great benefit to U.S. industry and passengers alike.

STEM ENGAGEMENT NASA’s fiscal year 2020 budget proposes the termination of NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement and its portfolio of domestic assistance awards (grants and coop- erative agreements), and instead prioritizes funding toward an innovative and inspi- rational program of exploration. While the fiscal year 2020 budget no longer supports these programs, a common vision, mission and focus areas will drive NASA’s future endeavors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) engagement. Through its mission directorates, NASA will focus on: creating unique op- 13 portunities for students to contribute to NASA’s work in exploration and discovery; building a diverse future STEM workforce by engaging students in authentic learn- ing experiences with NASA’s people, content and facilities; and strengthening understanding by enabling powerful connections to NASA’s mission and work. A small, focused functional office at NASA headquarters will be accountable for the strategic direction and coordination of the Agency’s STEM engagement efforts. NASA’s mission successes will continue to inspire the next generation to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics studies, join us on our journey of discovery, and become the diverse workforce we will need for tomorrow’s critical aerospace careers. We will use every opportunity to engage learners in our work and to encourage educators, students, and the public to continue making their own discoveries.

MISSION SUPPORT In this budget, NASA will simultaneously implement multiple large development programs in order to return to the surface of the Moon sustainably. To be successful, NASA must have the institutional capabilities and facilities necessary to efficiently and effectively support these programs, which is why this budget proposes important new investment in Mission Support. NASA’s mission support programs directly enable the Agency’s portfolio of missions. The fiscal year 2020 request prioritizes the capabilities, operations and equipment to safely operate and maintain NASA Cen- ters and facilities, along with the independent technical authority required to reduce risk to life and program objectives for all NASA missions. With installations in 14 States, NASA collectively manages $39 billion in assets with an inventory of over 5,000 buildings and structures. Over the past 60 years, NASA has leveraged unique test facilities to develop new and innovative vehicles and technology for space exploration. Now, commercial companies are also leveraging this unique infrastructure. Over 80 percent of NASA facilities are beyond their constructed design life, and NASA faces the challenge of a deferred maintenance backlog of ∼$2.3B. The 2020 budget includes additional funding critical to renewing our infrastructure while we continue to divest of unneeded, costly facilities. In the area of information technology (IT) services, NASA continues to improve management and strengthen NASA’s cybersecurity capabilities in order to safeguard critical systems and data. We have made significant progress over the past several years, raising NASA’s score on the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) from an ‘‘F’’ in 2015 to a B∂ this past year. The 2020 budget provides critical resources to continue strengthening cyber security protections and funding to help modernize NASA’s IT systems in support of future mission objectives. In fiscal year 2020, the Agency will continue its efforts to implement and develop optimal solutions. Examples include IT consolidation, automated segmentation architecture and end user cloud migration. NASA continues to transition its IT to an enterprise gov- ernance and operating model.

CONCLUSION NASA’s fiscal year 2020 budget request provides for the foundation of a national exploration campaign that will create an architecture that is open, sustainable and agile. The Space Launch System and Orion, critical components of our exploration architecture, will reach important milestones in construction and testing this year as the program works through significant development challenges, and our new lunar command module, the Gateway, will see international and commercial partnerships solidified and construction begin. We have called on American companies to help design and develop human lunar landers and reusable systems for surface activities. In LEO, our Commercial Crew program remains strong and will soon be delivering American astronauts, on American rockets, from American soil to the ISS for the first time since 2011. With the fiscal year 2020 request NASA will initiate the first round-trip mission to the Red Planet with a Mars sample return mission, and many of the technological advancements we achieve moving forward to the Moon will provide critical data and capabilities for future robotic and crewed Mars missions. We will continue to pursue transformative aeronautics technology as we develop the next generation of aircraft and make air travel safer and more efficient. We will increase our understanding of our home planet and move out on ambitious programs to study the far reaches of our solar system and beyond. Mr. Chairman, I would be pleased to respond to your questions and those of other Members of the subcommittee. 14

Senator MORAN. Administrator Bridenstine, thank you very much for being here. Thanks for the conversation that you and I have had in my office, and Senator Shaheen tells me the same occurred with her. And I am grateful for that. Let me start by talking about what is the circumstance we face in which you are going to be someone within the administration who is going to be requesting additional dollars. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir. Senator MORAN. Tell me, do we know what the amount of those additional dollars will be? Our conversation has been about where they come from. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Right. Senator MORAN. But do we know what amount of dollars we are looking for? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Sir, we at NASA have put together I think a pretty good proposal to OMB and to the National Space Council. They are doing their own independent assessments to basically come up with a unified administration position. I will tell you, sir—and I think this is important. I read an arti- cle this morning that indicated that it was $8 billion additional money per year for the next 5 years. I will tell you that is not accurate. It is nowhere close to that amount, but I do not want to throw out a number until we have gone through the process with OMB and the National Space Council. Senator MORAN. Well, then tell me about the work of NASA to date. What have you found in your analysis, your studies? What is needed to bring this goal of an earlier landing on the Moon to reality? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Great question, sir. A couple of things. Num- ber one, we have done a number of studies and analyzed it in every possible way you can imagine. The only way we are going to get humans to the surface of the Moon within 5 years is to take advan- tage of the capability that this committee, and in fact the United States Senate, has been supporting now for a number of years. The Space Launch System with the Orion Crew Capsule and the European Service Module is the system that will enable us to get to the Moon within the next 5 years. The reason is it is the only system that is going to be capable of carrying humans. Now, in order to get those humans to the Moon, we are going to have to not just—what that system does is it gets our humans to what we call a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit around the Moon. Once they are there, we need to get those humans to the surface of the Moon, namely the South Pole of the Moon. In order to achieve that, we are going to have a Gateway. We call it the ‘‘Gateway.’’ Think of it as a reusable command module in orbit around the Moon permanently. Again, the goal here is long- term sustainable return to the Moon. In other words, we can take humans to the Moon, whatever part of the Moon that we want to get to at any time we want to get there. That is the goal of a sustainable return to the Moon. But we need a reusable command module in orbit around the Moon permanently. We call it the ‘‘Gateway.’’ What we are doing now is we are focused, really, on two elements of that Gateway. 15 Think of a small Space Station in orbit around the Moon. The two elements we need are power and propulsion. That is one element, and the other element is what we call a ‘‘utilization module.’’ It is a very small habitat, if you will. We could take the SLS, the Orion, the European Service Module, use that system to get our astronauts to the Gateway, and between now and 5 years from now, aggregate at the Gateway a landing system. And once we have that landing system in place, that gives us the ability to get to the surface of the Moon. The Gateway has solar electric propulsion. What does that mean? That means that the Gateway is maneuverable. When we think back to the Apollo era, we landed in the equa- torial regions of the Moon, so we learned a lot about the very specific places we landed on the surface of the Moon. When we landed in 1969, from 1969 up until 2008, 2009, we thought the Moon was bone-dry. In 2008, 2009, NASA made significant discoveries. There are hundreds of millions of tons of water ice at the South Pole of the Moon. We want to be able to get to more parts of the Moon than ever before. The Gateway gives us more access to more parts of the Moon with humans, a sustainable presence. We have got to get that landing system built, and that is really where the new dollars are going to come from, getting the landing system built so we can get from the Gateway to the surface of the Moon. Senator MORAN. Administrator, you have addressed this in a fashion already in what you just said, but what would be the objec- tive to be accomplished of landing a woman on the Moon? What is the reason, or what is the desirability of doing it earlier? What ad- vantage does that give us, and how does that enhance or advance the other objectives of NASA and its goals into the future? How does this change the timeline or consequences to other things, other goals of NASA? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir. By direction of the President, the Vice President announced at the last National Space Council that the next man and the first woman on the Moon will be Americans. He also announced that the target would be within 5 years having a human on the South Pole of the Moon. The question is, Why the South Pole? Well, that is because that is where the resources are. That is where the water ice is. That is where we need to get in order to utilize the resources of the Moon, which is in the Presi- dent’s Space Policy Directive 1. There are so many more reasons to go to the Moon than just utilization of these resources—that life support capability. In fact, we talk about the rocket fuel. The reason we go to the Moon is about American leadership. It is about leading a coalition of nations for a sustainable return to the Moon for science. A lot of people do not realize how much science is available left to learn from researching not just the Moon, but researching deep space from the Moon. When we think about the Moon, it is a repository of great scientific data. I do not know how many billions of years, but a long time. The challenge with the Earth is it has this very active geology, a very active hydrosphere, a very active atmosphere. Well, that does not exist on the Moon. 16 What does that mean? That means anything that impacted the Moon billions of years ago is today right where it was billions of years ago, and that includes not just meteors. It also includes sub- atomic particles. We talk about the charged particles coming from the Sun. The Moon can give us great knowledge about our own solar system. There are lots of scientific information. Again, we did not know there was water there until 2009, really. We have only known this for about 10 years, so what else do we not know about the Moon? The other thing that is important to note is that from the Moon, we can do science deeper into space. We talk about potentially having science on the far side of the Moon. Why is that important? Be- cause it is quiet, from an electromagnetic spectrum perspective. There is no interference from all of the radiation that happens here on Earth because of human activity. On the far side of the Moon, we can study way back and see, no kidding, in some cases, the very first light in the universe, which is an important capability that we cannot only do from the Moon, but the Moon would enable us to do more of that capability. But more than anything, sir, we want to go to Mars. In the last year, since I have been the NASA Administrator, we have discovered that there are complex organic compounds on the surface of Mars. What does that mean? The building blocks for life exist on Mars. We have also discovered that the methane cycles of Mars are perfectly commensurate with the seasons of Mars. It does not guar- antee that there is life, but the probability just went up again. Those complex organic compounds do not exist on the Moon. They are all over Earth, and of course, now we know that they are all over Mars. We also discovered, just since I have been the NASA Adminis- trator, that there is liquid water 12 kilometers under the surface of Mars. What do we know about liquid water? Anywhere it exists on Earth, there is life. Could there be life on Mars? I do not know, but I think the United States of America ought to be the country that finds out. We go to the Moon because it is a proving ground. How are we going to live and work on another world; in other words, Mars? The Moon and the Earth, we are a system. We are always together. It is a 3-day journey home. Apollo 13 taught us that we can have things go bad on the way to the Moon, and we can still make it home. If that would have happened on the journey to Mars, it would have been over. The Moon is a proving ground, to prove technology, reduce risk, ultimately take all of that technology and use it for a mission to Mars. When we are at Mars, Earth and Mars are only on the same side of the Sun once every 26 months. When we go to Mars, we have to go to stay. We have to learn how to live and work on another world. I am sorry. Senator MORAN. Next time, Administrator, I will ask you for your top three reasons. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Okay. [Laughter.] 17

Senator MORAN. Senator Shaheen. Senator SHAHEEN. Well, thank you for being here, Administrator. I completely agree that part of what NASA is doing that is so excit- ing is for science. I had the chance to go last night to the Congressional Dialogues dinner, where Doug Brinkley talked about his book ‘‘American Moonshot,’’ John F. Kennedy and the great space race, and he talked about, as part of his book, the excitement that John Ken- nedy was able to build when he sold that idea to the American people and how excited kids got. I remember as a child being in grade school and high school and listening to John Glenn orbiting the globe and Alan Shepard, the first American in space, and how excited we all were. And that is why I was so disappointed when I saw your budget again proposes eliminating NASA’s education programs—the Space Grant, the Minority University Research and Education Program, the program to stimulate competitive research, EPSCoR. It is the way that NASA has gotten into schools all over this country to get kids excited, and if we are going to have the future scientists and researchers we need for the space program, we have got to start when kids are in school and getting them excited about this. So I do not understand why you are proposing again to eliminate these programs. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. NASA does a lot of outreach to young folks all over the country, and we touch every State in the Union, and, of course, that is important. We want exactly as you have identified, what Douglas Brinkley talks about, that inspiration, that is what NASA does. We have a history of that. By the way, Douglas Brinkley is a professor at my alma mater, Rice University. Go Owls. I had to throw that in there, but to your point, we have a big ambition and a big heart for reaching those young folks. The way we do that most effectively is through the various mission directorates. The Space Technology Mission Directorate, for example, has a lot of research done at universities that young people get engaged in at the university level. The Science Mission Directorate, for example, we are very involved in FIRST Robotics, which has demonstrated an amazing capability to engage young people. In fact, I was out at the Mars InSight landing back in November of last year. Some of the technologists, the engineers that were building those robots that are now on Mars, they got started in the FIRST Robotics program. Senator SHAHEEN. And if we are being parochial, that started in New Hampshire. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, ma’am. [Laughter.] Mr. BRIDENSTINE. That is great to know. I would love to maybe make a trip out there and learn more. There are ways that we are engaging young folks. Senator SHAHEEN. And I appreciate that. However, last year this committee on a bipartisan basis did not agree with cutting those programs, and hopefully, they will not agree again this year. I 18 think that is not the right direction if we want to continue to engage people across this country in the importance of NASA’s work. As we discussed yesterday when you came to see me, one of the concerns that I have is about water contamination that has shown up at some of NASA’s sites. There is a report recently from the New York Times that states that NASA along with the Department of Defense lobbied the administration to adopt a weaker standard for groundwater pollution that is caused by PFAS chemicals. Those chemicals, as we discussed, have been found in firefighting foam, and they exist in groundwater across this country. Can you talk about whether in fact NASA lobbied the EPA to put in place weaker standards for PFAS pollution? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Ma’am, yesterday after we talked, I went back to NASA. We opened up these questions to all the different people that were involved, and the answer is we reject the notion that the New York Times put in there that NASA was involved in that. We were not. We have never advocated for weakening the standards for the clean water because of the PFAS pollution. It is right now on our agenda to go through all of the different NASA centers and find out which of them have used PFAS and how it has affected, not just the centers where it was utilized, but the communities around it. NASA is going through that right now, and we support the EPA as they go about doing the scientific analysis to determine what levels are safe and unsafe, and as far as anybody at NASA can tell, we have been fully supportive of the EPA scientific analysis of this. Senator SHAHEEN. So you did not lobby to try and get the EPA to put in place weaker standards? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. That is correct. Senator SHAHEEN. Good. Well, thank you. I am pleased to hear that. I know that NASA has acted very responsibly in terms of the wells that have been polluted at Wallops Flight Facility. So I hope you will continue to act in that responsible way. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, ma’am. Senator SHAHEEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator MORAN. Senator Shelby, the Chairman of the full committee, has joined us. Thank you. Senator SHELBY. Thank you. I believe that we must have with NASA a unified and clear direction—from NASA, from the administration, and the Congress—to achieve the goal of using an Amer- ican rocket to put American astronauts on the Moon. Ambiguity on options and the program, I think only detracts from a lot of these efforts, and some of the recent comments made by you and others have arguably created confusion. It has with me. Could you take a minute or two and elaborate on some of what we discussed in our meeting yesterday about SLS and how it is the only launch vehicle capable of launching crews to land on the Moon? And considering risk, cost, time, and other factors, your view as Administrator about SLS being the option to ensure a successful crewed lunar landing mission in 2024? Is that too much? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. No, sir. We are right in line on this. 19 We have looked at options, and we have determined that the only option where we are going to be able to put humans on the surface of the Moon in 2024, which is my mandate, is to utilize the SLS, which is, of course, will be by far the most powerful rocket in the American inventory. In fact, in the world, nothing comes close, and not just the SLS, but utilizing—— Senator SHELBY. But it could be used for other things too, could it not? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir, absolutely. In fact, the SLS, when we talk about launching to Europa, for example, if we use rockets that are currently available off the shelf, it would be a 7-year mission, Europa being a moon of Jupiter, a water world, if you will, which we believe has a probability of having life. It is 7 years by conventional rockets that currently exist. With SLS, we can cut that down to less than 31⁄2 years. So it is a very capable asset for the United States of America, and it is really the only rocket that we are going to have capable of taking our humans to the Moon in 2024. Senator SHELBY. I know the time has slipped on it some. It slips on a lot of things, but what is important is to build that rocket and build it right, is it not? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir. Senator SHELBY. And I know Boeing—we have spent a lot of money on that, and I think it needs to be finished rather than go to something else, out of expediency. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. We are close. We are getting very close. Senator SHELBY. I appreciate your statement on that. Both Boeing and SpaceX have had issues while developing their crew capsules. You are familiar with this. The most recent SpaceX anomaly caused the complete loss of the crew capsule. During past anomalies that have involved commercial vehicles, NASA has conducted their own independent reviews of the inci- dents. This recent incident involved testing a vehicle that is intended to carry crew to space, and it seems more than appropriate for NASA, of all agencies, to conduct its own independent investigation to ensure, of course, crew safety. My question is this. As has been past practice, when vehicles are lost, will NASA conduct its own independent investigation into the recent Crew Dragon anomaly and make a public summary of these independent results available? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Right now, NASA is doing a review. We are doing it side by side with our partner, SpaceX, in this review. Senator SHELBY. Now, what does ‘‘side by side’’ mean? Does that mean you are doing it jointly, or they are doing it and you are just tagging along? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. It is jointly. It means that our scientists and our engineers are side by side. Senator SHELBY. Is that unusual to do it jointly? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Not in this case. Senator SHELBY. I thought they did—NASA independently. Can you be independent and reach independent conclusions if you are doing something jointly with somebody? Will you be—— Mr. BRIDENSTINE. I would say that the engineers that we have at NASA are extremely sensitive to what we are trying to achieve, 20 and they have an obligation to make sure that we are putting forth only the most accurate and precise data for the protection of our astronauts. I have every confidence that as SpaceX conducts the investigation with our engineers, that we will get very accurate information as to what the anomaly was. Senator SHELBY. Is this a departure from the norm a little bit? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Not that I know of. Senator SHELBY. Well it is not strictly an independent investigation if you are doing it with the people who built and launched the rockets. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. It is not strictly an independent investigation. Senator SHELBY. Well, that is not the norm, I do not agree, but we will check that out. Regardless of the impact schedule, do you believe that NASA and SpaceX should be in complete agreement on the root cause of the anomaly, and that any necessary corrective actions will be appro- priately tested again prior to flying NASA astronauts being on board? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Absolutely. Senator SHELBY. Okay. Well, I appreciate that, and I appreciate your testimony today. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir. Senator SHELBY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator MORAN. Chairman, thank you. Senator from West Virginia, Senator Manchin. Senator MANCHIN. Thank you, Chairman. Last year, I was honored to meet with Katherine Johnson and her family during a dedication ceremony for the statue of Ms. John- son at West Virginia State University. You know, she turns 100 years old, and she is unbelievable. It is my hope that the students who pass by that statue every day are reminded of Katherine’s legacy and inspired to keep their passion for knowledge alive, and I cannot be more proud of NASA’s Independent Verification and Validation Facility in Fairmont, my hometown. Through the contributions of hidden figures like Katherine John- son and Dorothy Vaughan, as well as the Rocket Boys—Homer Hickam from Coalwood—West Virginia has contributed immeas- urably to our Nation’s advancements in space and continues to contribute to the work completed at IV&V Facility in Fairmont. The Green Bank Observatory, I think we have spoken about that, and I appreciate it. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes. Senator MANCHIN. Pocahontas County and the West Virginia Ro- botics Technology Center. So I look forward to seeing you, hopefully, at the dedication at the IV&V Facility this year, but given the integral role West Vir- ginia plays in safety and security, robotics, refueling, identifying objects both near our planet and across the galaxy, I would love to have you see the incredible work being done firsthand. So I would say I hope you are able to come. Will you be able to come to our dedication? 21

Mr. BRIDENSTINE. We have the invitation, sir. We are working through it, but I would love to be there. I cannot 100 percent com- mit. Senator MANCHIN. Well, we think you will be. We are just hoping for you to be there, okay? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Okay. Senator MANCHIN. So I want to make that formal invitation for you to be there and be able to see it, and I know Senator Capito and I both would love to have you in our State. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Thank you, Senator. Senator MANCHIN. The other thing I want to talk about is the Near-Earth Orbit Objects at Green Bank, and I think you know— I think you have been brought up to speed on the Green Bank Tele- scope? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes. Senator MANCHIN. In a nutshell, what we are having a problem with is the funding mechanism, and I think it can be a tremendous asset for the security of our Nation and the safety of our globe. I do not know if you can provide me with the next 5 years of the NASA support at Green Bank, as directed by fiscal year 2019 appropriations bill? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. We do utilize Green Bank. It is, of course, a National Science Foundation asset. We used it back in November when we landed InSight on Mars. We were able to get data back very quickly because some of that data was flowing through the Green Bank Observatory, so—— Senator MANCHIN. Right. I think also, if I might interrupt, this year in January, the Green Bank Telescope helped give the astronomers the most detailed images over a potentially hazardous asteroid passing close to Earth. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir. It has great value, and we use it. We are a customer of it. Senator MANCHIN. We need it involved in your funding. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Okay. Senator MANCHIN. They are having a hard time saying afloat, and you know that. With the National Science Foundation, if they do not partner up—and it is a natural asset for our country. It is a wonderful opportunity. It is in a quiet zone. It does a great job. So I guess I would just ask if you are looking at that, your priority for looking at that in your budget. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. We will take a look at it, sir. Senator MANCHIN. Okay. And then giving your state of priority for mapping Near-Earth Orbit objects, can you tell how Green Bank plays into that? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir. Senator MANCHIN. Because I do not think it is tied in. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. This is a really big issue not just for our Coun- try but in fact for the world. Senator MANCHIN. The world, right. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. In 2013, a lot of people maybe in this room, remember an asteroid that entered the Earth’s atmosphere over Russia, an asteroid that ultimately blew up over a province called Chelyabinsk in Russia, and when it exploded, it had the amount of energy of 30 times the atomic bomb at Hiroshima. Of course, 22 that kind of event is going to happen on average once every 60 years. That event resulted in 1,500 people going to the hospital. It resulted in 7,200 buildings being damaged significantly. It resulted in damage—of those 7,200 buildings, they were in six different towns around the area. It was a huge explosion. We have to detect, track, and characterize those near-Earth objects that are 140 meters or bigger. That explosion was an asteroid that was 20 meters wide. We are talking about characterizing asteroids at 140 meters or bigger. So far, we believe there are 25,000 of those near-Earth objects that could pose a threat in the future. Nothing right now is posing a threat, but in the future. The question then becomes how do we characterize them? We need ground-based surveillance, which we have. I do not know how Green Bank could play into that, but it could be a piece of the solu- tion. We also need space-based telescopes that can detect, track, and characterize—— Senator MANCHIN. I think tying Green Bank into your network now would be a tremendous asset, and I think that would be part. And we could do that for probably low budget, having this asset already at our disposal. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Sir, we will look into that. Senator MANCHIN. So I formally invite you again as a public invitation to West Virginia to come and see the dedication for Kath- erine Johnson, IV&V Facility. I think it will be something special. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir. We will do that. Senator MANCHIN. Okay. Thank you, sir. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. You bet. Senator MORAN. Senator Van Hollen. Senator VAN HOLLEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the Chairman and the Ranking Member for their leadership. Welcome, Mr. Administrator. It is great to see you. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Good to see you. Senator VAN HOLLEN. Look, I know that you are not responsible for the final signoff from the budget at OMB. So I just want to get your responses to a couple questions on the merits of some of the programs that are ongoing at NASA because we had a conversation last year at the hearing, and I just want to make sure you are still in the same place this year with respect to the merits of those programs as you were last year, because obviously this committee will make its own decisions with respect to our budget priorities. So last year, in our exchange, you said—I am quoting—‘‘It is absolutely important to me that NASA follow the guidance of the Decadal Survey, and a brand-new Decadal Survey came out in Jan- uary of this year.’’ This was last year. You still believe it is important that we follow their recommendations, the Decadal Survey, right? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir, I do. Senator VAN HOLLEN. And you pointed out then—and it is still the case now—that the PACE program and the CLARREO programs are priorities under that survey; is that not right? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. That is correct. 23

Senator VAN HOLLEN. All right. And last year, we also talked about the Restore-L program, and this is what you said at that hearing, quote, ‘‘This is important. Robotic servicing for our Coun- try is a critical capability that we need to have for a whole host of strategic reasons.’’ You would still agree with that, right? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. 100 percent. Senator VAN HOLLEN. Absolutely. And then there is another program that was in fact ranked number one by the 2010 Decadal Survey with respect to astronomy and astrophysics. That is the WFIRST program. It had the highest scientific priority, space astrophysics mission rating, and you agree that that is also an important priority for our country, right? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir. Senator VAN HOLLEN. All right. So I just wanted to get your views on the merits of those programs, and I appreciate your testimony. And I look forward to working with the committee on those priorities. I understand Senator Shaheen brought up the issue of PFAS. I appreciate that. In Maryland, we are very proud of two things. One, we have NASA Goddard. They do lots of good work in many areas, including Earth sciences, and in nearby Virginia, we have the Wallops Flight Facility. I know you visited that as well. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir. Senator VAN HOLLEN. And a lot of Marylanders work there and are proud of the work they do there. And there has been, though, a PFAS issue at Wallops, and we look forward to following up with you to make sure that we address that. The other issue I wanted to raise with you had to do with one of the contractors down at Wallops. It turned out that for a period of time, they were discharging pollutants into the Chesapeake Bay, and it went undiscovered for a long period of time. Are you familiar with that circumstance? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Different than PFAS? Senator VAN HOLLEN. Yes. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Then I am not familiar. Senator VAN HOLLEN. This has to do with nutrient overflow into the Chesapeake Bay—— Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Okay. Senator VAN HOLLEN [continuing]. From the activities at Wal- lops. It was one of the private contractors. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Okay. Senator VAN HOLLEN. And it was discovered. The contractor discovered it, and I think the person who had sort of knowingly al- lowed this to happen was let go. But we would like to follow up with you on exactly what happened to make sure that that kind of incident does not happen again. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. I would be happy to do that. Senator VAN HOLLEN. And really, the last question I have, I understand from your earlier testimony that and I think I read that you and the administration decided to move the target date for the next Moon landing up to 2024. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir. 24

Senator VAN HOLLEN. I would just say that our policy decisions here need to be driven by the science—— Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes. Senator VAN HOLLEN [continuing]. Not by political calendars, and I understand you are going to submit a revised budget. But I would very much hope, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Mem- ber, that we do not allow a political priority that is not a scientific priority to drive away funding for what we all have sort of agreed are important priorities based on the science in this committee. So I look forward to working with you. There are lots of things we want to do. We would like to do them all right now. I am going to follow up in writing on the Webb Telescope situa- tion. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Okay. Senator VAN HOLLEN. We had a briefing 6 months ago or something. Senator MORAN. True. Senator VAN HOLLEN. But I would like to get an update. But thank you for your leadership. I look forward to continuing to work with you. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Thank you. Senator VAN HOLLEN. Thank you. Senator MORAN. Senator Van Hollen, thank you, and we look forward to a budget amendment, something from the administration outlining additional resources necessary and where those dollars might come from, and we will take that request seriously. But we will try to analyze it, just as we would analyze any other budget request. Administrator, the vote has been called. I am interested in strik- ing an agreement with you, a deal. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Okay. Senator MORAN. A Kansan and an Oklahoman. We will conclude this hearing, but I would like your agreement that we, Senator Shaheen and I, can invite you back in the near future to sit down around the table and have a conversation. We will invite our col- leagues from the subcommittee to join us, and if that seems satis- factory to you, we will conclude this hearing today rather than recessing it and coming back. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. I would be happy to do that. If it is okay, I would like to reference what Senator Van Hollen said for just 1 second regarding the timing because this is something that is important to me. It was important to me. The timing was important, even when I was in the House of Representatives. We think about the effort to go to the Moon. This has been tried before many times. We should be on the Moon right now, but we are not. The reason it has failed in the past, there are really two risks. One is the technical risk, which NASA is very good at retiring. The other challenge is the longer the program goes, the more difficult it becomes to achieve the end state because of the political risk. Budgets change. Priorities change. Administrations change. And so what we are trying to do here—if we go back to the 1990s, we had the Space Exploration Initiative, and it failed because it took too long and the budgets never materialized. 25 Then we had in the 2000s, the Vision for Space Exploration, and then the same reason, the budgets changed, the priorities changed. So the faster we go, the more likely it is that we can realize the end state, and I think that is why when President Kennedy, to what Senator Shaheen was talking about, when President Kennedy announced that we were going to the Moon, he put a very specific deadline on it: by the end of the decade. And I think that is an important thing for us to do. Senator VAN HOLLEN. If I could just say, Mr. Chairman, I guess the question for us is what are the opportunity costs of changing the schedule? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes, sir. Senator VAN HOLLEN. What impact would that have on other priorities? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. I understand. Senator VAN HOLLEN. Thank you. Senator MORAN. Senator Shaheen has a follow-up question. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Okay. Senator MORAN. And then we will move toward concluding the hearing. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Okay. Senator SHAHEEN. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wanted to follow up on heliophysics and space weather. As I know you are aware, New Hampshire is very much a space State. The University of New Hampshire does a lot of work in a number of areas, but one of those is heliophysics. And changing space weather conditions pose serious risks for our satellite infrastructure, for our power grid, for national security assets in so many ways. And according to a 2012 report released by Lloyd’s of London, a severe space weather event could cripple our economy and cost up to $2.6 trillion. So can you talk about the roles that NOAA and NASA play in understanding and predicting space weather and the assurances that you can give us, if you can, about our space weather infrastructure? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes. So NASA plays a critical role here when it comes to technology development and science, exploration. We currently have in orbit around the Sun the Parker Solar Probe, which is actually going to be flying through the solar corona, the atmosphere of the Sun, an amazing technological accomplishment. It has already done a number of passes that have been very close and resulted in amazing science. What we are trying to do is get very good at predicting what causes these coronal mass ejections, what causes these solar flares. These could be damaging to the Earth because what happens is it is very—we go back to what we call the Carrington Event in the 1800s. We had a coronal mass ejection that impacted the Earth. In the 1800s, it was impactful, but today it would be far more impactful because we use the electromagnetic spectrum. We have power grids. All of that would be wiped out. It would potentially be existential to our country. So we need to be good at predicting, and then operationally, some of the systems that we have built, NOAA uses ultimately for oper- 26 ational activities so they can provide warning and those kinds of things. This is a mission that is important to NASA. It is a mission that is very important to our international partners. They are making investments in it, the same as we are making investments in it, and we have further collaborations where we can all have an impact. We cannot afford, Senator, as you are aware, a Carrington-level event in today’s era because we have so much dependency on the power grid and so much dependency on the electromagnetic spectrum. Senator SHAHEEN. So how important is the role of our universities in heliophysics and other science missions? Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Very important. We make our data available to the world for free, and the universities do amazing research. They take the data. They utilize it. They help us understand what is happening, and they in fact, in many cases, build the models by which we can make predictions in the future. Senator SHAHEEN. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator MORAN. Senator Shaheen, thank you very much. Administrator, again, we will work at getting a date in the near future to have a conversation around a table here at the Capitol. It is still important. I think there are a number of questions that we would like to discuss with you as we complete our work on this appropriations bill. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Yes. Senator MORAN. Senator Shaheen and I both want to make cer- tain that the CJS appropriations bill is one, I hope of all 12 that is passed early on in the appropriations process and no need for a CR to a later date. So we will be back in touch with you and your crew. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Thank you. Senator MORAN. Thank you very much for your testimony. Mr. BRIDENSTINE. Thank you, Chairman. SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS Senator MORAN. No further questions can be had this afternoon. So, therefore, Senators may submit additional questions for the subcommittee’s official hearing record. We request that NASA respond to those questions within 30 days. And the subcommittee stands in recess. [Whereupon, at 3:11 p.m., Wednesday, May 1, the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene subject to the call of the Chair.]