The Senate Appropriations Committee will mark up its version of the FY2010 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill (which includes NASA, NOAA and NSF) this week.

• Subcommittee markup is scheduled for June 24 at 2:30 pm in 138 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
• Full committee markup is scheduled for June 25 at 3:00 pm in 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Note: dates and times for congressional activities are subject to change. Check with the committee for the most up to date information: http://appropriations.senate.gov.

Decadal Surveys are signature products of the National Research Council because they set consensus-based priorities in various fields of research. Our “National Research Council” section (on our left menu) has been updated to explain what Decadal Surveys are and to provide links to the four existing Decadal Surveys that guide space and earth science research at NASA, and to the three Decadal Survey studies that are currently underway — astronomy and astrophysics, planetary science, and biological and physical research in space. We also provide links to other classic NRC reports broadly or specifically related to space activities that are often cited.

According to Congress Daily (subscription required), the House debate on the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill yesterday set a new record for votes in a single day.

“The House Thursday conducted a raucous, marathon series of 53 roll-call votes” in an “eight-hour vote-a-rama.” The earlier record was 40 votes in a single day on Oct. 4, 1988. Republicans reportedly were displeased at limitations on the number of amendments that could be offered so forced the series of roll-call votes. Hearings and markups were delayed or cancelled as Members were required to be on the floor.

The following events next week may be of interest. In addition to the events listed below, the DOD authorization bill may go to the floor in the House. Check the House calendar at http://www.house.gov for up to the minute information. The Senate Armed Services Committee and its subcommittees are scheduled to markup their versions of the DOD authorization bill June 23-25 (and the 26th if necessary), but those meetings are closed. For further information, visit the committee’s website.

Note: Dates and times for congressional hearings, markups and floor action are subject to change. Check with the committee or the House or Senate calendar for the most up-to-date informatio

Washington, D.C.

June 22-24 8:30-5:00 each day NASA/NRC Symposium on NASA Earth System Science at 20. National Academy of Sciences Building, 2100 C Street, N.W. Free.

June 25 8:00 am-9:00 am Commercial Satellite Images and Their Impact on National Security. Sponsored by Women in Aerospace. Charlie Palmer’s Steakhouse, 101 Constitution Ave., NW. $30 for WIA members, $45 for non-members.

Woods Hole, MA

June 23-25 Mitigation Panel of the NRC’s Committee on Near Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies. J. Erik Jonnson Conference Center, Woods Hole, MA. Some sessions of this meeting are closed.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) were successfully launched by an Atlas 5 on June 18. This is the first launch of the Vision for Space Exploration announced by President George W. Bush in January 2004. The launch originally was scheduled to take place during the Bush Administration, but slipped into the Obama Administration, which is also supportive of the goal of returning Americans to the Moon by 2020.

LRO will reach the Moon on Tuesday and enter polar orbit. Its primary purpose is to produce digital maps of the lunar surface to identify landing sites for future human missions. LCROSS remains attached to the Centaur upper stage. They will enter an elongated lunar orbit to position the Centaur so that it can impact a permanently shaded crater at one of the Moon’s poles. The impact will create a “debris plume” that can be studied by lunar orbiting spacecraft and Earth-based telescopes to determine if water is present. It is theorized that water ice deposited by comet impacts may have been preserved in permanently shaded areas of the Moon’s poles. If true, it could be useful for future human outposts. LCROSS will separate from the Centaur before impact and return data about the plume before crashing into the lunar surface itself, creating a second plume. For more information, see NASA’s press kit.

The most recent U.S. lunar probe was Lunar Prospector, launched in 1998. More recently, Europe, Japan, China and India have sent probes to the Moon.