If i cannot give you the source and method would you prefer i dont govern you the information . I think it would be best for all concerns if when you make an allegation like that you are able to back it up with more than i say so. That is not what i said. It isnt because i said so. You get up at the u. N. Counsel and secretary gets up on sunday making allegations and your evidence to back it up appears to fall short of proof. I cannot remember the rest. They are firing artillery to attack ukrainian military. Did you believe rockets, missiles, over whatever fired from russian territory took down the two ukrainian planes or do you not have conformation that happened we are looking into exactly what brought into the planes. Are you sure . You are sure the planes wept down . We dont make determinations until we have facts. Yes, but you are sure the russians are firing artillery . We have information, yes. Coming up on cspan2. Two astronauts testify to a house science, space and technology committee. And then the Senate Foreign relations hears from the state department about the ongoing violence in iraq. And later kt talks about foreign with a policy. We talk to two astronauts board the International Space station. They testify about their research and experiments they are conducting. Lamar smith, texas congressman, shares the hearing. We will go on and start because time and the astronauts wait for no one. The down link is going to begin promply at 11 20 and we have a number of thing toes do between now and then. We will speak with nasa astronauts Steve Swanson and reid wiseman on board the International Space station. The station is in orbit 260 miles above us and it is travelling at 17,000 miles per hour. For over 13 years nasa astronauts for lived and worked on the station. It is roughly the size of a football field including the end zones. It has more livable space than a five bedroom house and six astronauts live there. Two americans, three russians and one european. Steve swanson and reid wiseman will speak to us from the destiny lab where they are conducting experiments on weightlessness and space. We can develop new medications that make their way into the commercial products we use opearo on earth. It has impacted our economy and improved our way of life. To the microships used in our car to zein screens on our ipad. Space inspires future generations to dream big and work hard. Astronauts serve as rolem model to inspire students to study math, science and engineer. And they keep the economy strong and make sure america remains globally competitive. But space is more about things that improve our lives on earth. Our accomplishments in space remind americans of their accomplishments. Many americans remember where they were 40 years ago when apollo landed on the moon. The first footprints were used by americans and the United States should always lead the way in Space Exploration. It encourages us to seek answers to questions about life, our existence and the meaning of it all. We can thank nasa and the Johnson Space center in houston, texas and here at their Head Quarters in washington, d. C. For their hard work in making this down link possible. After todays event there is a show case of iss Research Presented by nasa and the biomedical institute. They are leading the way in microgravity research. It will be next door in room 2325 down the hall. Go take a look and listen to the round table discussion held. I will now recommend ms. Johnson for her Opening Statement. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Let me welcome to audience and our former chairman of the committee mr. Gordon that just came in. I am looking forward to hearing from the astronauts about life on the International Space station and the challenges and opportunities they face. I hope that we can follow todays event with a formal hearing at a later date that will allow a more comprehensive investigation of the International Space station and its utilization for research. This past weekend the 45th anniversary of the first humans on the land was a bold achievement. As was the recent assembly of the present situation. It depend ons the past and present members of the astronauts core. Inspite of the risk they face the name of silence and exploring. The road to completion was a long one, but the International Space station stand as one of the emerging marvels of modern age and a testament to american perseverance. It has stood the test of time providing longterm space partnerships. It has grade value for your young people and you see many of them here. As evidence by the intense interest of our students and talking to the orbiting astronauts and developing science projects that may fly on the station. I have lots of interest. But the stark reality this is a parishable commodity and the future is now. I welcome the president s proposal to extend the International Space station operations to at least 2024, we need to make sure the years available are used effectively to answer the research and engineering questions that can only be answered on the International Space station. I would like to make one more point. If we want to ensure that the International Space station carries out the needed research and Technology Activities in a timely and productive fashion we have to be willing to make the needed investments. The International SpaceStation Research budget is stagnating and the agencys life and microgravity science budget has been cut deeply over the past decade. The appropriated funding for biological and physical research in fiscal year 2014 accounts for less than 3 of the total International Space station funding. Clearly this is a Situation Congress can and must rectify. I look forward to the down link and the opportunity to hear from the astronauts today. I thank you and yield back the balance of our time. I am going to introduce the astronauts. Steve swanson joined nasa as a Flight Engineer on the shuttle training aircraft in 1998. Later that year he was selected as a mission specialist. This is dr. Swanson third space flight. He received a bachelor of science and engineering in physics at the university of colorado and a masters from Florida Atlantic university and his doctor from texas a and m university. Reid wiseman began his career as a naval aviator. Commander wiseman was selected for the Astronauts Program in 2009 while deployed to the middle east. You may recognize him from the many twitter pictures he posted. He has over 160,000 followers. He earned his bachelor degree from the poly tech income and a masters from john hopkins university. Let me go to the mechanics and let me thank the members present for their interest and participation as well. We will do ow best to move through questions and answers as efficiently as possible. Questions for the astronauts today will alternate between the majority and minority and each side has ten minutes and each member has two minutes. To the extent members can be brief. We will not go over the 2 minute limit and all or more members will be able to ask questions otherwise there are few members. There is a hard fast 20 minute total and that is why ten minutes on each side. I have participated in down links in the past so i will forgo my question and hopefully allow more time for another member. We have a few minutes before we start the process. When you speak to the astronauts press your talk button, wait a couple seconds and then speak. You have to wait for the transmission to get to the station and back. Please turn the microphone off when you are finished and wait for the response. This is so the astronauts dont get feedback on their side. Most importantly, dont interrupt the astronauts when they are speaking. The delay doesnt allow back and forth conversations. Must be nice to be an naught astronaut and and not be interrupted. We are going to wait a few minutes for the down link to begin. We are going to have a pause here. This is dangerous to allow so much quite with so many members. So one is going to be recognized for jokes maybe i should say. We will have to be patient and wait for the down link and thank the members for being here and nice to see a full house in the audience here. This is a special occasion. I dont think this has been done in congress for many, many years and it is just a nice thing to witness firsthand. It is historic in lots of ways and i think the International Space station is our greatest engineering feat and we will it and the astronauts in action. With that we will be quite. Mr. Chairman this is exactly what i was worried about. Former chairman hall can entertain us with a few stories from the great state of texas. Well you could not give me enough time. Thank you, ralph. We will wait just a minute. This is Mission Control houston, please call station for a voice check. How do you hear me . We have you loud and clear. The gentlemen from california is recognized for a quick question. I appreciate this opportunity to ask you a direct question. You may have seen the movie called gravity that dealt with the whole idea of space debris. I was woundering if you tell us about the challenge and how the space station deals with that. Good question, congressman. Yes, we do worry about space debris up here. A couple nights ago we realized there was going to be a piece of debris here us. We are out of harms way within a few hours after it is executed. People on the ground monitor where everything is and they know where the debris is and where we are and they can track that. Ms. Johnson, Ranking Member of the committee, is recognized. Thank you very much. And greetings to commander wiseman and dr. Swanson. There is a a lot of excitement on this end watching. You i would like you to comment on the aspects of the International SpaceStation Program that is most important in enabling humans beyond the earth orbit. I dont want to take your entire day up. I could talk about this subject forever. It is getting humans up here and having us live up here for six months at a time and in over a year scott kelly will be up here for an entire year. It is all of the things that happen to the human body and what space craft needs to provide for us like oxygen, water, food, supplies and running this machine over six month and a year at a time is what we will need when we go to mars and spend 23 years in space. We need to test this now on the space station so that in a decade we go head on the mars and have a successful journey. Mr. Hall is recognized. Thank you for linking our committee to the two astronauts. I remember the debate on june 23ered 1993 in chis committee and room when they came within one vote of killing the space station we thought forever. Our argument made on behalf of the space station was providing something tangible children can dream about. So i will ask a simple question, how do you think the space station has inspired young people and can you give us examples of how you engage Young Children and inspire them to pursue s. T. E. M. Education . What would you say is the space stations greatest legacy . I agree with you tremendously about the s. T. E. M. Program. One thing i did before getting here was worked on spears with students in the local high school and that is the experiment we have. And the kids get to program the spears and satellites that float around here and they have competitions and when they got their Program Running on the station they got so excited about science and technology. It was fantastic. Ms. Edwards is recognized. Thank you very much. I have to tell you i am so excited i wish i could be you when i grow up. My question and greetings to reid wiseman, a fellow m marylander. I wonder if you could tell us we will freeze package crab cakes for you i wonder if you could tell us the importance of the work that you do and how you are inspired to join this Space Program . What inspired you because i think it is a challenge for us to figure out what inspires the next generation of explorers. That is a great question. I think back to my childhood when the Space Shuttle was being developed and launched. I was around 6 years old at the time and i remember a 747 flying over maryland and my parents and i went up to the top of the hill to watch the Space Shuttle fly over and that image is burned into my mind and that started the course i was on to become not only a Navy Test Pilot and then astronaut. So we never know hat little thing as adults that is going to spark a childs mind and it was a simple airplane with a Space Shuttle well that is not simple, but it was the act of being with my parents and that is what sparked by imagination. So just exposing the kids to the s. T. E. M. World in motion you never know when you will spark their imagination and i am sure we are doing it every day. The gentlemen from mississippi is recognized. Thank you for talking to us. Hopefully the chairman of the full committee will allow us to have a congressional trip to the space station in the near future. I have a question for you from a voter in south mississippi. How do you deal with the so solitude during your duration . We look to look at the window of this beautiful planet is one thing we like to do. We look down on earth and it is fantastic and that is what keeps us going; looking at our beautiful planet. The gentlemen from california mr. Peters is recognized. Thank you, mr. Chairman and hello, gentlemen. I have a question from the committeement we struggle with how to maintain the lead in science. I wonder what your perspective is on how important Space Exploration is in maining our lead in science. Certainly it is right at the cuttingedge. This is one of our many pieces, i guess, in the overall u. S. Portfo portfolio of leading the revolution. Just off the screen to the right there is the arm of robonot and he was out last night to do upgrades and we will bring it up and get it in full operation maybe with set of legs down the road. The work we do are is on the cutting edge but that is one small piece of what is going on and a lot of it is thanks to government funding and pumping money into the research that is critical for the nation not just five years down the road but 50 and a 100. The gentlemen from alabama mr. Brooks and recognized. I am from alabamas Fifth District the home of the marshal space flight center. As a child i grow up feeling the saturn five rocket tested and i remember apollo 11 when they declared one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind. My question is what mission should americas Space Program next embark on to be the next giant leap for mankind . Yes, i believe we should get ourselves to mars. I know it is difficult to get there but i believe we can do it. And this is one of the first blocks we have to do learn how to live in space and recycle everything we need to from air, water and grow our own food and reduce the mount of supplies with us and create a robust syst system. We are starting it off. Going to mars is our main goal. The gentlelady from massachusetts is recognized. Good evening. I have questions from students at the cambridge, massachusetts camp. How do you pack . What is the temperature . What fuel do you use to support the Space Shuttle . And has anyone had a birthday . If so, how did you celebrate . Okay. So, we pack in a very, very small suit case about that big and we get 1. 5 kilograms. We use kerosene and oxygen to get up here and once we are on the station we have a hyperbolic fuel mix that keeps us here bite dont burn engines very often. And he had a russian crew mate who had a birthday and we gathered around that table, all six of us, and share european food, russian food, juices, and join together to have a great evening. I dont think there were any presents to unwrap but i think he was happy enough. So it was a great event. The gentlemen from florida, mr. Posey is recognized. Sometimes it is hard for americans to understand why human Space Exploration is so important. Can you talk about how the work you are doing now benefits americans . What are you up to . There are a few different y ways to look at that question. Scientific Aspect Research from burning ways to learn how fire work and the details part of it. We do medical research up here. Through Station Research we have come up with ways to get chemo therapy to targeted areas of the body easier. And humans are meant to explore and this is one path to take. It full fills the idea for humans. This is a grate investment also. It creates money for the country, good tr the economy and creates a better world for all of us. The gentlemen from washington is recognized thank you, mr. Chairman, and thank you for being with us. I am two questions that came from the young gentlemen behind me. One is trying to get a sense more of how the space station plays into the effort to go to mars and a little more specific about what the utility is of the space station. And he also wants to know as we look out into the this century what is on the horizon and what other frontiers do you think we will visit and how many other planets will we discover . Is that right . All right. Well, lets start with the end question. How many planets. Limitless. It depends on how good the c etchine censtores a censtores get. When you look tup up at the stars think about there is a galaxy around that. If we go to mars, it will be a three year journey