Washington, DC – Today, the fortieth anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon, the House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a hearing on ways to enhance the relevance of space to address national needs and to better communicate its importance to the public.
“It’s of course fitting that we pause to honor those who blazed the trail that leads out beyond low Earth orbit—both the brave astronauts who undertook those hazardous expeditions to the Moon and the countless individuals and organizations who enabled those expeditions to succeed,” said Subcommittee Chairwoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). “Yet, by definition our civil space program is about the future—not the past. If our space program is to have a sustainable and productive future, it is also about relevance. That is, America’s civil space program must be relevant to our broad national needs if it is going to continue to be supported.”
Beyond the value of the knowledge gained, technologies and services developed for NASA and the nation’s space program have been commercialized and are widely-used, for example communications satellites, space-based weather monitoring and prediction, precision navigation, and medical diagnostic tools. NASA highlights many of the technologies, products and services in its annual NASA Spinoffs publications. In addition, the agency has developed a tool called NASA City that allows users to trace the impact of space on their daily lives.
Less quantifiable, but equally important, is the role of the space program in inspiring students and encouraging them to pursue careers in science and engineering. Especially in the wake of the 1960s “space race”, there was a ripple effect that led to a flowering of innovation and helped spawn a broad array of new technologies, materials, and processes.
General (Ret.) Lester L. Lyles, Chair of the National Academies’ Committee on the Rationale and Goals of the U.S. Civil Space Program testified that “Civil space activities are central to the R&D enterprise of the nation, often in a transformational way, and thus present powerful opportunities to help address major national objectives…a preeminent U.S. civil space program with strengths and capabilities aligned for tackling widely acknowledged national challenges—environmental, economic, and strategic—is a national imperative today, and will continue to grow in importance in the future.”
“Space is the bedrock of America’s economic and strategic power,” added Ms. Patti Grace Smith of the Space Foundation.
However, despite the many contributions to society as a whole, there is a perception that the public lacks awareness of how space affects their lives, which can contribute to a lack of enthusiasm for space program investments.
Witnesses offered opinions on how to engage the public. Ms. Deborah Adler Myers of the Science Channel said, “We believe that if you capture people’s imaginations, they will connect and engage.”
Miles O’Brien, a journalist who has extensively covered space, testified that, “Public affairs should always be a mission requirement—and a high priority requirement. The TV cameras are worth their weight in gold because they let the public participate in the exploration. And let’s not forget who pays the bills. Leave the public behind and there won’t be any missions—much less requirements.”
“Our space program is incredibly important to this country’s future well being, but we can’t assume the public will just take that assertion on faith,” said Giffords. “We need to be able to demonstrate it.”