Life on Mars? No. 64, Hearing, 104 ... BEFORE THE SUBCOl\fMITTEE ON SPACE AND AERONAUTICS COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION Printed for the use of the Committee on Science U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Was hington, DC 20402 Life on Mars? No. bll, Hearing, lOll ... BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE AND AERONAUTICS COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION Printed for the use of the Committee on Science U.S . GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 35-lOOCC WASHINGTON : 1996 For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents. Congressional Sales O ffice. Washington. DC 20402 COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE ROBERTS. WALKER, Pennsylvania, Chairman F . JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., GEORGE E. BROWN, JR., California RMM* Wisconsin HAROLD L. VOLKMER, Missouri SHERWOOD L. BOEHLERT, New York RALPH M. HALL, Texas W. FAWELL, Illinois BART GORDON, Tennessee CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland JAMES A. TRAFICANT, JR., Ohio CURT WELDON, Pennsylvania JOHNS. TANNER, Tennessee ROHRABACHER, California TIM ROEMER, Indiana STEVEN H. SCHIFF, New Mexico ROBERT E. (Bud) CRAMER, JR., Alabama JOE BARTON, Texas JAMES A. BARCIA, Michigan KEN CALVERT, California PAUL McHALE, Pennsylvania BILL BAKER, California JANE HARMAN, California ROSCOE G. BARTLE'IT, Maryland EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas VERNON J. EHLERS, Michigan** DAVID MINGE, Minnesota ZACH WAMP, Tennessee JOHN W. OLVER, Massachusetts WELDON, Florida ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida 0. GRAHAM, South Carolina LYNN N. RIVERS, Michigan MA'IT SALMON, Arizona KAREN McCARTHY, Missouri THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia MIKE WARD, Kentucky STOCKMAN, Texas ZOE LOFGREN, California GIL GUTKNECHT, Minnesota LLOYD DOGGE'IT, Texas ANDREA H. SEASTRAND, California MICHAEL F. DOYLE, Pennsylvania TODD TIAHRT, Kansas SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas STEVE LARGENT, Oklahoma WILLIAM P. LUTHER, Minnesota VAN HILLEARY, Tennessee CUBIN, Wyoming FOLEY, Florida SUE MYRICK, North Carolina DAVID D. CLEMENT, Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel BARRY BERINGER, General Counsel TISH SCHWARTZ, Chief Clerk and Administrator ROBERT E. PALMER, Democratic Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE AND AERONAUTICS F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., Wisconsin, Chairman CAL VERT, California RALPH M. HALL, Texas WELDON, Florida JAMES A. TRAFICANT, JR., Ohio STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas TIM ROEMER, Indiana ANDREA H. SEASTRAND, California ROBERT E. (BUD) CRAMER, JR., Alabama TODD TIAHRT, Kansas JAMES A. BARCIA, Michigan VAN HILLEARY, Tennessee JANE HARMAN, California ROHRABACHER, California SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas MA'IT SALMON, Arizona ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia MIKE WARD, Kentucky STEVE LARGENT, Oklahoma WILLIAM P. LUTHER, Minnesota ADAM FOLEY, Florida *Ranking Minority Member **Vice Chairman September 12, 1996: Dr. Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., Associate Administrator for Space Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration ....................................... 3 Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Stafford, USAF (Retired); Stafford, Burke and Dr. David S. McKay, Assistant for Exploration, Earth Science and Solar System Exploration Division, Johnson Space Center, National Aero- Dr. Richard N. Zare, Chair, National Science Board, Department of Written Testimony Submitted for the Record by: LIFE ON MARS? THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1996 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE AND AERONAUTICS, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met at 10:00 a.m., in Room 2318 of the Ray- burn House Office Building, the Honorable F. James Sensen- brenner, Jr., Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding. SENSENBRENNER. Good morning, and welcome to this hear- ing about the possibility of life on Mars. The biggest movie this summer was "Independence Day," a story about aliens invading the earth. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but this year and next, England is celebrating the 100th anniver- sary of the serial publication of H.G. Wells' ''War of the Worlds," which was also about aliens invading the earth. It wasn't that long ago that Orson Welles scared half the country thinking that H.G. Wells' novel had come true. Even less time has passed since Steven Spielberg gave us a movie about friendly So, clearly, we have some sort of cultural fascination with life in outer space. suspect that's why NASA's announcement last month made headline news around the world. NASA believes that it has found some evidence that life in its most primitive form can exist in other For some, this has cosmological implications. For others, the phil- meaning of this discovery could be more dramatic than the impact Darwin had on the way humanity views itself. For still the discovery is just another ho-hum announcement. The nationally known paleontologist, Steven J. Gould, titled his editorial in the New York Times, "Life on Mars-So What?" As fascinating as these discussions might be, that's not why we're here today. This is a subcommittee that deals with science and public policy. Instead of debating the implications of the dis- covery, we're going to discuss the science behind it. What steps did the National Science Foundation and NASA take to make this dis- covery? How do these steps relate to our national space exploration What is NASA planning to study on Mars? Is it appropriate this discovery as a reason to change public policy? And what do we do now and where do we go from here? have two of the principal scientists, Doctors Richard and David McKay, involved in developing the technology and doing the research that has made this discovery possible. They're going to tell us how they went about examining the me- teorite, ALH-84001, and their confidence in their findings. Dr. Wesley Huntress is NASA's associate administrator for space science. He is going to review NASA's current plans for exploring and tell us a little bit about how the agency will follow up on the discovery. Finally, we have Lt. General Thomas Stafford. General Stafford commanded several Gemini and Apollo space missions, including the Apollo-Soyez link-up in 1975. General Stafford, who served his in the Air Force, NASA and the private sector, chaired the synthesis group on American space exploration initiative in 1990 and 1991, which culminated in a roadmap for Mars exploration with a report, "America at the Threshold." General Stafford, it appears that we may once again be at a threshold, so I look forward to hearing your comments and those the other witnesses at the table. am informed that there is a Democratic caucus, which is one of the reasons why many more Democratic members are not here. They're busy engaging in seditious activities. [Laughter.] But I do appreciate the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Hall, deciding that Mars is more interesting than sedition, and I will now recog- him for whatever comments he wants to make. Mr. HALL. I thank the very fair and neutral Chairman. [Laughter.] My fellow Democrats asked me to announce that these hearings will be continued under my chairmanship. [Laugher.] I do like the Chairman, admire him and respect him and we do work well together, and I thank you, Mr. Chairman. You're exactly right about life on Mars. It does sound like some science fiction to a lot of people. Silly to some people, entertaining to some. But it's dead serious to scientists and men and women of science who pick over the rocks they bring back from the moon and search through the files to bring us honesty and factual informa- tion to give us gracious living and to do all those things. So I think today is very important and will probably be very en- tertaining because it is interesting. It is mysterious and it does the imagination of people who read and follow. One of the results of our space program is that we now know a about Mars. I know it's a good and a very harsh environ- ment. It's my belief that many millions of years ago, it may have had a more hospitable climate, with running water, we're led to be- Whether or not it was hospitable enough to allow life to flour- ish on Mars in the past is to be continued. Could some form of Martian life still exist today? I guess that's to be continued? I hope today's witnesses will be able to answer some of these questions or give us some idea, lead or push us in some direction where we can use your facts and our imagination and still whet our appetite to continue to search and to continue to seek. The discovery that will be discussed at today's hearing I think is very exciting. I understand that scientists don't yet agree on whether or not fossilized life has been found. That's to be contin- ued. That will require more research. And I'm convinced that whether or not Martian fossils have been found, the research that we're going to get, the answers will prove valuable down the road, just like our efforts to build Star Wars. may or may not have ever succeeded, I think the Rus- as they headed toward the fall of the wall, didn't know whether or not we had succeeded and I think there was a lot of and a lot of things that we gained on the way there. think it has been and is and will be and should be a worthwhile in the future. this is an exciting time for the U.S. space program. We're making amazing scientific discoveries almost weekly. We're flying the shuttle and doing important life sciences research. We're build- ing the space station, which will be a national laboratory in space. And we're carrying out other critical space activities. Yet, I'm convinced that, ultimately, we'll get what we pay for. We need to make sure, Mr. Chairman, that we aren't just patting NASA's hard-working team on the back for their accomplishments, them challenging new assignments and at the same time, continuing to cut their budget. The consequences may not be seen for a few years, but eventu- ally a "penny-wise, pound-foolish" approach to the space program is going to catch up with us. has been asked to make deep cuts to their budgets. making deep cuts to the budget. I know of no other agency that's made the cuts that they've made the last four years. just think NASA has risen to the challenge. And I think it's time to hold the line against further cuts. I'm a cut man myself. saw a cut I didn't like up here. But I think you have to finally arrive at the point of where you're going to be reasonable and say, look, we've handed these people the job. We've asked you to cut. You know how to cut. We cut it with a club. You cut it with a knife and make a proper incision for it. You've done that. I think it's high time for us to gut up and support you.And I thank you, and I yield back my time. SENSENBRENNER. I thank the gentleman from Texas. With- out objection, other members' opening statements will be inserted into the record at this point. Hearing none, so ordered. The first witness this morning will be Dr. Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., Associate Administrator for Space Science at NASA. ask each of the witnesses to summarize their remarks in five to six minutes. Without objection, all of the written prepared statements of each of the witnesses will be inserted into the record at this point. Huntress, you may proceed. STATEMENT OF DR. WESLEY T. HUNTRESS, JR. ASSOCIATE AD- MINISTRATOR FOR SPACE SCIENCE NATIONAL AERO- AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION Dr. HUNTRESS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Subcommittee. This is indeed an exciting time, and I'm very glad to be here today to discuss with you the recently announced research results concerning the possibility for life on ancient Mars. the way I've come to look at this is about 13,000 years ago, a messenger arrived on this planet in the form of a meteorite. It landed in a very remote part of the planet, in Antarctica, and was buried in ice. And for 13 million years, it's waited patiently for the human species to get out of their caves and produce a civilized soci- ety and to develop the capability to go to such an inhospitable place and to fmd it. It was found in 1984 as part of the annual Antarctic meteorite tour sponsored by the National Science Foundation in its polar re- search programs. We found it. We brought it back. We opened it up. And if we're reading the message correctly that it contains, it says, you are not if that's true, it's pretty profound. pretty certain that this message comes from Mars. Now Mars among all the planets occupies a real special place in the col- lective human consciousness. It's been an object of awe and wonder and speculation over the ages. Mr. Chairman, you mentioned some that in your opening remarks. It's inspired a lot of romance and intrigue and fear about what lies beyond our own earth and in the depths of space. Scientifically, we've been interested in Mars because it's the most likely place in our solar system where life may have once origi- nated besides our own planet. And our robotic exploration of Mars has shown us that there's clear evidence for warmer and wetter episodes early in Mars' history. And we believe that Mars, in its early history, 3-1/2 billion years ago, was very similar to our own planet at that time. And over those 3-1/2 billion years, the surface and climate conditions has varied widely in both planets, but Mars' atmosphere has become thin and dry and its surface is now relatively cold and barren, and the water that once flowed on its surface has since frozen out and disappeared. after more than thirty years of planetary exploration throughout the entire solar system, and after examining every planet at close vantage point with our spacecraft, except for Pluto, it's clearer than ever, more clear so, that Mars alone among all those planets is the choice for eventual human exploration. And Mars among the other planets in the solar system has surface conditions which are similar to the earth, making it the most suit- human exploration. And you'll hear more about that from our distinguished colleague here, General Tom Stafford. what's been our reaction at NASA to this announcement? It's simply been one that this evidence is intriguing and our atti- tude towards it has been one of careful fascination. The implications are profound, but the evidence is not yet conclu- So much more work needs to be done in attempting to confirm the conclusions of this team. And while this evidence for potential life on early Mars adds an emphasis to our current plan- ning for the exploration of that planet, clearly the most important first step is to focus more work on these meteorites. that could take several years. In the meantime, we will continue to plan on how to get a sam- the surface of Mars back to earth for study with our spacecraft. We've been developing this strategy for the past several years for era of Mars exploration. It's a systematic plan for the step-by-step robotic exploration of Mars. Our overall strategy is one that will be familiar to any of the explorers of the last century who up the last remaining territories on our own planet. The first step is to map the territory. You get your global maps for the planet from which we can identify the most interesting places. And then after conducting that aerial survey, so to speak, you'll know what are the most interesting places and you send in your scouts to survey the lay of the land. In essence, to conduct a landed survey at those interesting places. And after scouting the surface, the next step is to bring back samples. the current plan we have been working on before this dis- was to see if we couldn't get a sample back from Mars by the year 2008 with a launch in 2005. But achieving that goal was going to be a challenge within our existing Mars Surveyor Program resources. instead of the goal of just returning an interesting sample, we're looking at a strategy as to what it would take to maximize the possibility that that sample contained evidence of life on early that's something quite different. It's not that we just want any sample. We would want a sample that has the right stuff in it. And that requires a great deal more work in identifying the right places. have asked our Mars science working group to con- what that strategy would be, to focus our goals on Mars to look for early life, and that group will complete its work in early September. And we've asked the folks out at NASA's JPL to work with that team to look at how one would implement that process. One of the things that I think is important to understand is just how the search for life on Mars fits into this new origins theme in space science and the agency. That program is directed towards asking some of the most fundamental questions we could ask- where do galaxies, stars, planets and life come from? And second, are there worlds like the earth around the nearby stars? And if so, are they habitable or is life as we know it present there? the search for evidence on life on Mars is as much about a search for origins as it is about Mars exploration. If life began at the early stages on the second planet in this solar then if two places, why not more than two? On this planet, where there is water and where there is a source of chemical energy, we find life, even in the most extreme environ- if life is so robust, why should we not find it on other planets where those conditions exist? And if in more than one place in this solar system, then why not in other solar systems? And we're be- ginning to discover evidence of planets around other stars. And if there are other planets like ours around those stars, then could life have emerged there, also? So it has major implications beyond just Mars. although to date, scientists have detected a small number of planets around those stars, these findings suggest that it's likely that many stars are orbited by planets. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee, the conclusion by the McKay team from their studies of ALH-84001 that early life ex- isted on Mars remain yet to be proven. However, the implications the work are profound. And i