The following events may be of interest next week. More information is available by using our calendar on the right menu, or using the links provided below. Note that congressional schedules are always subject to change.

(Note change in venue for NRC Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space meeting on Wed-Fri.)

Conference reports may be brought to the floor at any time.

• The Senate may take up the conference report on the Energy-Water appropriations bill (H.R. 3183). Action had been expected to be completed this week, but Congress Daily (subscription required) reports that Senator Coburn is objecting to the final version because it excludes a provision he sponsored in the Senate requiring public disclosure of reports from agencies to Congress that are called for in appropriations bills (excluding sensitive reports on national security and defense).
• The DOD authorization bill (H.R. 2647) conference report also may be voted on in the Senate; it passed the House on Oct. 8.
• Conferees may meet on the DOD appropriations bill (H.R. 3326).

Monday-Friday, October 12-16

• International Astronautical Congress, Daejeon, South Korea (all week)

Tuesday, October 13

• Senate scheduled to resume debate on Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill (H.R. 2847), which includes NASA, NOAA and NSF
• NRC Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB), Oct. 13-14, Keck Center, Washington, DC; some sessions may be closed to the public

Wednesday, October 14

• NRC Committee on Cost Growth in NASA Earth and Space Science Missions, Oct. 14-16, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA; some sessions may be closed to the public
• NRC Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space, Steering Committee, Oct. 14-16, National Academy of Sciences Building, 2100 C Street, NW, Washington DC; some sessions are closed to the public. (It earlier had been announced that this would be at the Keck Center, but it will be at the NAS Building.)

Thursday and Friday, October 15-16

• Continuation of International Astronautical Congress and two NRC meetings listed above
• NRC Committee on Assessment of NASA Laboratory Facilities: Site Visit to Glenn Research Center (GRC), Cleveland, OH. Some sessions may be closed to the public. See the agenda for important information about procedures the public must follow to gain access to GRC for this meeting.

NASA’s Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and its Centaur upper stage impacted the Moon this morning four minutes apart at about 7:30 am EDT. Centaur impacted first in the shadowed portion of the Cabeus crater at the Moon’s South Pole, spewing dust up from the surface. LCROSS flew through the dust taking measurements and sending back data to Earth, and then impacted Cabeus itself a few kilometers from the Centaur. Observers on Earth using ground-based instruments also studied the plumes from the impacts. The mission is led by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA, which is scheduled to hold a press conference at 10:00 am EDT this morning.

The exciting impact of the LCROSS spacecraft and its Centaur upper stage at the Moon’s South Pole this morning apparently left some members of the press, and perhaps the public, dissatisfied with the outcome because scientists could not provide an instant answer to what was discovered.

At a 10:00 am EDT press conference at NASA’s Ames Research Center near San Francisco, which managed the mission, exhausted LCROSS scientists patiently explained that more than three hours are needed to analyze the data. An array of ground- and space-based assets were trained on the Moon to observe the impact and an expected plume of “ejecta.” Media sources reported public disappointment that they did not see a promised “flash” at the time of impact. That part of the video – or lack thereof – was indeed puzzling.

Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS principal investigator, said that results from the data analysis will be presented at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in December. At that time, answers may be known about whether or not water exists in the permanently shadowed regions of the lunar south pole, the major question LCROSS was designed to investigate. AGU is only a short two months away. Stay tuned. In the meantime, check the LCROSS website for any breaking news.

Congress Daily (subscription required) reports that the Senate is not likely to complete its consideration of the FY2010 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill (H.R. 2847) today. The controversial issues that slowed action are not related to the space program. The publication quotes Senator Mikulski as saying that action probably will not be completed until next week.

The full text of today’s debate will be available in the Congressional Record that will be published tomorrow, but Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) issued a press release with the text of his floor statement. He called on President Obama to provide $3 billion more for NASA in FY2010 from stimulus funding, a position taken by most of the Texas congressional delegation in a letter to the President earlier this week. He also expressed support for commercial space companies.