Good afternoon. This hearing is called to order. Very pleased to see a hearing on s. T. E. M. And math and science and precision as starting precisely at 2 30 and 0 seconds. That is an auspicious way to begin this discussion. Earlier this year on one of the hottest nights of the summer, nearly a half Million People crowded on to the national mall. They werent there for a protest or to celebrate a national holiday, and they werent there for a concert or to watch a fireworks show. No, instead a half Million People went there drenched in sweat to watch the story of the apollo 11 mission as it was projected on to the washington monument, commemorated the moment 50 years ago when Neil Armstrong and buzz aldrin took that giant leap for man kind. As everyone in d. C. Knows, if there are a half Million People on the mall and it aint a protest, Something Big is going on. And landing the first humans on the moon and returning them safely to earth marks as one of the epical moments in the history of mankind. As we look out over our space landscape today, what we see is very different from the landscape of 1969. Indeed not only did we succeed in going to the moon and back again, but weve gone on to put robotic rovers on distance president s, celestial observatories in orbit that can peer into the beginnings of the universe, and weve established an enduring human presence in low earth orbit. In the span of a single lifetime, we have seen space fundamentally transformed from an uninhabited void or a scientific novelty to an integral part of our daily lives and the world economy. Space is often referred to as the last frontier and rightfully so. Much like the first frontiers of exploration, space is hard. It takes meticulous planning and extraordinary determination, and even then nothing is guaranteed. Its dangerous, but the last frontier shares a critical aspect with the first frontiers. Through its power now and tomorrow to inspire us. The space race of the 1960s inspired americans to aim higher, to dream bigger than they ever had before, to literally shoot for the moon. And i believe the burgeoning space sector of today can do the same for an even bigger and broader swath for the United States and the world. Just a few weeks ago, we witnessed the historic allfemale space walk on the International Space station, the first ever. And when the United States returns to the moon as part of the ard mis program, ardmis being the First Brother of apollo, nasa committed we will land an american on the moon and an american will step foot on the moon as the father of two young daughters, that makes me proud indeed. As we return to the moon, we return with a much more diverse set of commercial and nongovernmental partners. So, we move out on these plans, its worth remembering the success of apollo 11 and the National Space program as a whole was due in no small part to the contributions of a diverse work force including countless women who were working behind the scenes and whose stories have only recently become house hold names. One of those women, dr. Kristine darden testified before this subcommittee earlier this year. Dr. Darden was one of the famed Human Computers at nasa. Without her work and the work of many other socalled computers, many of them africanamerican women, we never could have sent astronauts into space, let alone brought them back safely. Unfortunately for far too long, dr. Darden and the other Human Computers contributions were hidden, relegated to the background for a time. Her story and the stories of others like her serves as a reminder of the lessons we need to learn to ensure we are cultivating and elevating talent not based on race or gender, but based on merit, skill, hard work, and passion. Todays hearing is about building the kind of work force that ensures nasa and the Diverse Group of partners we return to Space Exploration has the skilled base of people it needs to be successful now and in the future, that ensures the space economy can cant to go grow, and we will be successful in establishing the United States of america as the leader in a true space faring nation. To accomplish this, we can and should leverage the inspiration of space and Space Exploration to get kids of all ages, of all backgrounds, resources engaged, excited about science, technology, engineering, and math. But that alone isnt enough. Creating the space work force for the future will require us to take a serious look at the road ahead, to explore unconventional partnerships and roles of responsibility and to take other decisive actions add needed to maintain u. S. Leadership in space. Getting it right will be a complex undertaking. After all, space is hard. But im reminded and encouraged by something gene krants said in july of this year, what america will dare, america will do. I look forward to hearing from our Witnesses Today about their work in s. T. E. M. Education and what suggestions they might have for how we in congress can act. I want to thank in particular the Ranking Member for her initiative in proposing that we hold this hearing and for her leadership, bipartisan leadership that strengthened this committee, and i look forward to continuing to work along side her for many years to come. Thank you chairman cruz for holding this hearing. Im excited about today. The s. T. E. M. Work force is at a critical juncture. If we dont build a strong pipeline, well face a deficit of millions of workers over the next decade putting the economy and National Security at risk. Congress, federal agencies like nasa, industry partners, and educational institutions must Work Together to develop and prepare a 21st Century Work Force so we continue to lead in space and our economy remains innovative and strong. Thank you to dr. Elkinstanton, mr. Gladden, mr. Manber and dr. Capito for joining us. Nasa has had partnerships across the country. As we develop more advanced space technologies, set large goals for the countrys space program, and grow the aero space industry, we must grow partnerships to ensure we have a strong work force. This starts with educating students and giving them hands on opportunities to excel in s. T. E. M. Fields. Universities and students across the country currently work with nasa on important projects such as mission monitoring, research and analysis. In my home state of arizona, Arizona State university, university of arizona, and Northern Arizona university all work with nasa to further its missions both big and small. The talented faculty across the state propose innovative idea and bring new opportunities to students. When stray tof bridenstine testified earlier this year, he said nasa has had amazing partnerships. Arizona universities are leading the world when it comes to University Engagement with nasa and developing these projects. For example at asu, dr. Elkinstantons mission marks the first deep Space Mission. She and her team will be the first team to study an asteroid which is remarkably similar to a planetary core. University of arizona is also paving the way for future missions with its work on osiris rex. Dr. Loretta leads the team. The team at university of arizona is critical to the uk is ses of this mission that will bring the first asteroid sample to earth. All three of arizonas public universities also participate in the consortium. The space grant works to attract and retain students in s. T. E. M. Fields. In arizona, the Space Grant Consortium partners awarded 175 paid internships and fellowships to arizona students in 2018 alone which allows students to work along side principle investigators on mission like psyche or osiris rex. These mission and resource advancements offer us critical insights into space and spark interest and passion into the next generation of scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. Students are not the only ones benefitting because nasa gains innovative ideas which when paired by expertise and resources can push the boundaries of what we thought was possible. When the administrator testified he stated that University Projects typically meet both cost and schedule. An agency like nasa where money and time are both limited and projects are sometimes overbudget and behind schedule, these partnerships are key to maximizing science and discovery across the universe. As we look ahead, we must grow these partnerships, retain the knowledge thats gained from them, and train the next generation. Thats the only way we can ensure we have a Work Force Ready to keep america at the forefront of space. This week, were introducing legislation to help address the s. T. E. M. Work force concerned that are raised today. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration authorize zags act of 2019 which im looking forward to introducing includes provisions that require nasa to establish an Outreach Program to encourage High School Students to pursue careers in Technical Education and gives nasa the ability to establish and grow lasting partnerships between itself and universities through research centers. Im also proud to work with senator capito on legislation that monetizing the Space Grant Program. Our bill will streamline the program and ensure that states have the resources to recruit and retrain the next generation of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on ways to address these issues and other issues we face as a country. Thank you so much mr. Chairman. I yield back. Thank you. I now recognize the chairman of the full committee for his opening statement. Well, i want to congratulate my two colleagues on their excellent opening statements. Senator cruz described the crowd witnessing the 50th anniversary in dramatic vivid, almost poetic words. I could almost sense the pungent fragrance of that sweaty throng gathered on the mall. Almost like a senate hearing. And the clerk will note cross talk just say cross talk. [ laughter ] in the 50 years since the apollo 11, nasa has continued to achieve incredible feats. None of these missions would be possible without the support and partnership of americas educational system, in particular the talent and expertise found in our universities. And thats why im here today, why were here today. University researchers continue to lead groundbreaking projects in Space Technology and scientific discovery. In doing so, they involve students, some of whom become scientists, some of whom become engineers, others mathematicians for nasa and in the private sector. Maintaining this pipeline is vital to maintain americas preimminence in outer space. And im glad to be a cosponsor of the legislation senator mentioned. Todays panel represents a Cross Section of the nasa s. T. E. M. Education ecosystem. Id like to extend a particular welcome to dr. Josh gladden, vice chancellor for research at my alma mater, the university of mississippi. Ole misss work with nasa includes research on graph feen, a material with transformative potential for many applications including space flight. In fact, this past weekend, nasa launched a graphine research payload to the International Space station. Thank you all for being here today. Thank you mr. Chairman. And i look forward to a great discussion on improving s. T. E. M. Engagement to help build the space work force. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and i will say your remarks reminded me, growing up, both my parents are mathematicians. And an old engineers joke about the washington monument. A mathematician, physicist, and engineer go to the washington monument, and theyre each discussing how to figure out how tall it is. And the mathematician says its very simple. All i need is a length of string and transit, measure the distance to the transit, trigonometry to figure it out. Physicist says no, no, its much simpler. Ill take the elevator to the top, tie a string to the transit, lower it down and measure it. Engineer looks at the tour guide and says how tall is the damn thing . Our first witness, dr. Linda elkinstanton is the managing director of the Interplanetary Initiative and the principle inves gator of the Nasa Psyche Mission at Arizona State university. Her research revolves around terrestrial formation, magma evolutions, and mag metism and interactions between rocky planets and their atmospheres. She also promotes and participates in education initiatives such as inquiry and exploration, teaching, and leadership and Team Building for scientists and engineers. Dr. Elkinstanton serves on the standing review board for the europa division and on the mars 2020 rover science definition team. Dr. Elkinstanton received her phd in geofizzics from mit. Our second witness is mr. Jeffrey manber who is the founder and ceo of nanarax. Today nanarax is the single largest private investor on the International Space station with over 40 million dedicated to commercial facilities. They employee 70 people in texas and launched 250 small satellites in over 800 experiments to the iss. Mr. Manber is also chairman of dream up, an educational provision that lets students explore opportunities in space based research education. Our third witness is dr. Josh gladden who is the vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs at the university of mississippi. In this role, dr. Gladden works to facilitate research and Research Funding as well as provide support for all funded projects at the university. Prior to this role, dr. Gladden served as associate vice chancellor for research and center for acoustics. He served in elected positions for the spectral consortium and share of the society. Finally, ms shella condino. For those of you who dont, per sid yo is located along the rio grande river, 240 miles south of el paso, and resides in one of the most remote parts of the continental United States. For most people there, english is a second language and many people face tough economic challenges making it hard for students to focus solely on school. However, the high schools Rocketry Club has consistently placed well in contests across the country, and as a result they have become a wellrespected Rocketry Team. During her time there, ms condino and her students excelled at the Team America Rocketry challenge. In 2011, she was chosen by the National Aviation hall of Fame Selection Committee to receive the scott cross field aero Space Education teacher of the year award. Ms. Condino received her bachelors degree in manila, philippines. I welcome our witnesses. Chairman wicker, chairman cruz, Ranking Members, thank you so much for the opportunity to speak today. Im testifying on my own behalf. Im managing director and cochair with University President michael crow of Interplanetary Initiative which ill talk about today and also pi of the nasa Discovery Missions psyche, the 14th in the discovery portfolio as mentioned by chairman cruz. Thank you. We have a vision for an optimistic human space future. And by we, i mean we in this room. We have this vision. We want humans to be an interplanetary species. And we want a situation where our Space Exploration improves society on earth and our knowledge and care of the earth itself. Those are the stakes that were talking about. These really are huge times for us thinking about going interplanetary, taking these steps. Here are three Key University nasa partnership needs. First is work force development. We need talent to support the growing aspirations of our nation and to work with other countries as the worlds continuing leader in space. Therefore, education has to be futurefacing and work force oriented. I think this is a very important thing to stress, that were in the Information Age now, the educational style of the industrial era should be behind us. We need to look forward. Second, returning to the moon, this time to stay, will require more than just engineers, scientists, and astronauts. We need everyone involved, every aspect of society. We need artists and philosophers and so he shall yolgss and psychologists. We need Business Leaders and philosophers. These are the kind of connections that universities are really good at putting together for a push like the push to become interplanetary. And third, this full stakeholder triangle of nasa and universitys and the private sector is requires for our interplanetary future. Nonprofit universities are uniquely placed to provide rapid transfer of teams and transfer to the benefit of the space sector and also to the american taxpayer. This transfer has to speed up. So, now is the time to gr