Science and precision is starting precisely at 2 30 and zero 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 onto 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 onto the Washington Monument, commemorating the moment 50 years ago when Neil Armstrong and buzz aldrin took that giant leap for mankind. 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 epochal 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 that can literally 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 weve seen space fundamentally transformed from an uninhabited void or scientific novelty to an integral part of the daily lives of our 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 or broader swath of 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 a part of the artemis program, artemis of course being the twin sister of apollo, well, nasa has committed that we will land the first woman ever on the surface of the moon and it will be an american astronaut who steps forth on the moon moon. As the father of two young daughters, that makes me very proud indeed. As we return to bold Space Exploration, we do so not only with a much more diverse astro n naut corps, its worth remembering the success of apollo 11 and the National Space program as a whole was due in no small part to a diverse workforce, including countless women working behind the scenes and whose stories have only recently become household names. One of those women, dr. Christine darden, testified before this subcommittee earlier this year. Dr. Darden was one of the famed Human Computers at nasa. And 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 story of others like her serves as a reminder of the lesson we need to learn to ensure we are cultivating and elevating talent not based on race or gender but based on merit, based on skill, based on hard work, and based on passion. Today aes hearing is about building the kind of workforce that ensures nasa and a Diverse Group of partners return to Space Exploration and has the skilled base of people it needs to be successful both now and in the future, that ensures the space economy can continue to grow and that we will be successful in establishing the United States of america as the leader in a true spacefaring nation. So 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 and technology and engineering and math. But that alone isnt enough. Creating the space workforce 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 as needed to maintain u. S. Leadership in space. Getting it right will be a complex and challenging undertaking. After all, space is hard. But im reminded and encouraged something gene krantz, apollo 11 flight director, said of that mission when he testified before this subcommittee 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, by partisan leadership that has strengthened this committee. I look forward to continuing look alongside her for many years to come. With that i recognize the ranging member. Thank you, chairman cruz, for holding this hearing. Im excited about today. Our s. T. E. M. Workforce is at a critical juncture. The u. S. Space economy is booming. But if we dont build a strong s. T. E. M. Education pipeline, well face a deficit of millions of workers over the next decade, putting our economy and National Security at risk. Congress, federal agencies like nasa, industry partners, and most importantly, educational institutions must Work Together to develop and prepare a 21st century workforce so we continue to lead in space and so our economy remains innovative and strong. So thank you today to dr. Elkinstanton, mr. Manber, dr. Gladden, and ms. Condino for joining us today to discuss this important issue. Since it was established in 1958, nasa has had productive partnerships with universities across the country including a few in arizona. As we develop more advanced space technologies, set large goals for the countrys Space Program, and grow our Aerospace Industry we must continue these partnerships to ensure we have a strong work force. This starts with educating students and giving them handson Research 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 railroa, three universities all work with nasa to further its missions both big and tall. The talented faculty across the state propose innovative ideas and new opportunities for students. When the administrator testified earlier this year he said, quote, nasa has had amazing success with university partnerships. Arizona universities are leading the world when it comes to University Engagement with nasa and developing these programs and projects. For example, at asu, dr. Elkinstanton and her team will be the first scientists to study an asteroid. University of arizona is also paving the way for future missions with its work on osiris rex. This mission will bring the first asteroid sample to earth. All three of arizonas public universities also participate in the arizona Space Grant Consortium, which is jointly funded by nasa and the three universities. In arizona, the Space Grant Consortium partners awarded 175 paid internships and fellowships to arizona students in 2018 alone which allows students to work alongside Principal Investigators on missions like osiris rex. These mission and Research Advancements offer us critical insights in space and also spark interest and passion in our next generations of scientists, math ma mathematicians and engineers to push the boundaries what have we thought was possible. When the administrator testified he also stated that University Projects typically meet both cost and schedule. An agency like nasa where money and time were 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 workforce ready to keep america at the forefront of space. This week were introducing legislation to help address the s. T. E. M. Workforce concerns that are raised today. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration authorization act of 2019, which im looking forward to introducing with chairman cruz, chairman wicker, and Ranking Member cantwell, 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 cap ito on legislation which will modernize the Space Program for the First Time Since 1988. Our bill will ensure that state consortia have the resources to recruit and train the next generation of scientists, engineers and mathematicians. I look forward to hearing how we can address these issues. Thank you, 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 word. 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. In the 50 years since the apollo 11, nasa has continued to achieve incredible if itfeats. None of these would have been possible without americas education system, in particular the talent and expertise found in our universities. Thats 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 preeminence in outer space. And im glad to be a cosponsor of the legislation senator sinema mentioned. I would 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 has included work on graphene, a material with transformative potential for many applications including space flight. This past weekend nasa launched a graphene payload to the International Space station. So 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 workforce. Thank you, mr. Chairman. 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, and a physicist, and an engineer go to the Washington Monument and theyre each discussing how to figure out how tall it is. The mathematician says its very simple, all i need is a length of string and a transit, i can measure the distance to the transit, measure the angle to the top of the monument, its a matter of simple trigonometry. The physicist says its much simpler than that, ill take the elevator to the top of the moment, take the string up there, and measure the length of the string. The engineer looks at the tour guide and says, how tall is the damn thing . With that, im happy to introduce our witnesses. Our first witness, dr. Linda elkinstanton, is the managing director of the inter planetapl initiative and Principal Investigator of the Nasa Psyche Mission at Arizona State university. Her research revolves around magma oceans and subsequent planetary evolution including magnetism and interactions between rocky planets and their atmospheres. She also promotes and participants in education initiatives such as teaching methodologies. Dr. Elkinstanton currently serves on the standing review board for the Europa Mission and served on the mars panel and on the mars 2020 rover science definition team. Dr. Elkinstanton received her ph. D. In geology and geophysics from mit. Our second witness is mr. Jeffrey manber, the founder and ceo of manorax which has created products and offered Research Services for the commercial utilization of space. Today manorax is the single largest private investor on the International Space station with over 40 million of private capital dedicated to commercial facilities and equipment. Manorax employs 70 people in texas and has launched 250 small satellites and over 800 experiments to the iss. Mr. Manber is also chairman of dream up, an educational Public Benefit corporation that lets students pursue opportunities in spacebased research and education. Mr. Manber is a graduate of northwestern university. 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 sass associate vice chancellor for research and as the director of the National Center for physical acoustics. Dr. Gladden also served in elected National Leadership positions including as a member of the executive committee for the National Spectrum consortium and chair of the physical acoustics it can committee of the Acoustical Society of america. Dr. Gladden received a ph. D. Degree in physics from Pennsylvania State university. Finally, ms. Sheila condino is a physics teacher in virginia but is also a founder of the famed Rocketry Club in presidio, texas, 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 in presidio, english is a second language and many people face tough economic challenges making it hard for students to focus solely on school. However, even under those circumstances, Presidio 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 in presidio, ms. Condino and her students excelled, qualifying for the National Finals at the Team America Rocketry challenge. In 2011, ms. Condino was chosen by the National Aviation half of Fame Selection Committee to receive the Scott CrossfieldAerospace Education teacher of the year award. Ms. Condino received her bachelors degree in physics from Philippine Normal University in manila, philippines. With that i welcome each of the witnesses and welcome dr. Elkinstanton to give her testimony. Chairman wicker, chairman cruz, Ranking Member cantwell, Ranking Member sinema and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I am testifying on my own behalf. Im managing director and cochair with university persist Michael Crowe of asus Interplanetary Initiative which ill talk a little bit today and pi of the mission psyche 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 s