Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on Robotic and Human Space Exploration Next Week

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing next week that focuses on the Mars Curiosity rover as well as future robotic and human space exploration.

The September 12 hearing features the following witnesses:

• Fuk Li, director of the Mars Exploration Directorate, JPL
• John Grotzinger, CalTech, Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) project scientist 
• Steve Squyres, Cornell University --  the "father" of the Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, chair of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC), and chair of the National Research Council's recent decadal survey on planetary science
• Charles Kennel, chair of the National Research Council's Space Studies Board, which oversees the space and earth science decadal surveys and many other studies, including an ongoing study on NASA's Strategic Direction and a nascent study on the future of the nation's human space exploration program
• Jim Maser, president of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm ET in 253 Russell Senate Office Building.