What's Happening in Space Policy September 28-October 2, 2015

Here is our list of space policy events for the week of September 28-October 2, 2015 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in session.

During the Week

This is it!   The week when FY2016 begins — ready or not.   The House and Senate have until Wednesday, September 30, at midnight to pass, and for the President to sign, a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government open.   House Speaker John Boehner’s surprising announcement on Friday that he will resign as Speaker and from his House seat on October 30 is widely expected to make it easier to get a CR in place.  He can worry less about placating the right wing conservatives in his party who are refusing to vote for a CR unless it defunds Planned Parenthood and use Democratic votes to get the CR through the House.   While that is good news in the short term, the CR is only expected to last through December, so the proverbial can is just being kicked down the road into the lap of whoever becomes the next Speaker.  But it’s best to take one crisis at a time and perhaps the country will be able to get through this one less painfully than expected.  But it’s never over till the fat lady sings.  Predicting what Congress will do is a risky undertaking, as Boehner’s announcement proves.

The Senate is expected to pass a clean CR (without any policy riders like defunding Planned Parenthood) early in the week.  It is using the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Office of Inspection Accountability Act (H.R. 719) as the legislative vehicle for the CR.  A cloture motion is expected on Monday at 5:30 pm ET.  (Congress often uses an unrelated bill that is already through most of the legislative process as a vehicle for a CR or omnibus appropriations since it speeds things up.)

Amidst all the appropriations drama, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on astrobiology on Tuesday.  It originally was scheduled for June 23, but postponed when the House recessed to allow members to attend the funerals in Charleston, S.C. after the mass shooting there.

As if Washington politics isn’t exciting enough, NASA apparently has something intriguing of its own to announce on Monday.  It’s not saying exactly what, but at 11:30 am ET there will be a press conference where a “Mars mystery” will be solved.   Lots of speculation on Twitter and elsewhere as to what it will be, but we won’t spoil the surprise.

Speaking of Mars, another BIG EVENT this week will be the theater release of The Martian on October 2.  In the unlikely event you haven’t heard about the movie, based on the book by Andy Weir, it’s about an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars.   NASA has been going all out to advertise the film and a panel discussion at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Thursday — So You Want to be a Martian — includes two of the actors in the film, Mackenzie Davis and Chiwetel Ejiofor.   KSC Director Bob Cabana, who is also on the panel, clearly is hoping that Congress does, in fact, pass that CR so KSC will be open for business that day (October 1).

Those and other events we know about as of Saturday afternoon are listed below.   Check back throughout the week for updates on the calendar on the right side of our main page.

Sunday-Friday, September 27-October 2

• European Planetary Science Congress, La Cité des Congrès, Nantes, France

Monday-Tuesday, September 28-29

• National Academies Committee on NASA Technology Roadmaps, Keck Center, 500 5th St., NW, Washington, DC
• NASA Press Conference “Mars Mystery Solved,” NASA HQ, Washington, DC, 11:30 am ET (watch on NASA TV)
• Explore Mars Space Cafe, The Science Club, 1136 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 7:00 pm ET

Tuesday, September 29

• House SS&T Hearing on Astrobiology, 2318 Rayburn, 10:00 am ET

Tuesday-Wednesday, September 29-30

• NASA Advisory Council Heliophysics Subcommittee, NASA HQ, Washington, DC

Thursday, October 1

• FY2016 Begins for the U.S. Government
• Panel Discussion “So You Want to Be a Martian,” Kennedy Space Center, FL, 11:30 am ET (watch on NASA TV)

Friday, October 2

• Movie “The Martian” theatrical release, check local listings