Susan Eisenhower Among Witnesses for April 9 Hearing "From Here to Mars"

Susan Eisenhower is one of four witnesses at a Senate hearing next week on “From Here to Mars.”

Eisenhower is the granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.  She and her husband, Roald Sagdeev, former director of Russia’s Institute for Space Research (IKI, which conducts Russia’s space science program), co-authored a book on U.S. – Soviet space cooperation through 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed.   She then authored another book on post-Cold War space cooperation. (She also wrote a book on how she and her husband met and fell in love while the Cold War was still gong on).   On March 20, she was a guest on NPR discussing “what’s next for Russia’s relations with the West.”   Considering the evolving situation with NASA and Russian space cooperation, her testimony could be especially interesting.

Joining her are NASA’s Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Bill Gerstenmaier; former astronaut Leroy Chiao; and Jeff Manber, President of Nanoracks.

The hearing before the Science and Space Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is on Wednesday, April 9, at 10:00 am ET in 253 Russell Senate Office Building.   The description of the hearing provided by the committee suggests that the focus is international cooperation, though it will also cover NASA exploration strategy and commercial space efforts.  It states that space exploration has been a proven model for international cooperation, but “troubled U.S.-Russia relations, alternative mission destinations [for human spaceflight], and a strengthening Chinese space program may complicate international cooperation.”

The hearing will be webcast on the committee’s website.