Who's Who of Space to Testify At Senate Commerce Hearing

In a rare public appearance to talk about the future of the human spaceflight program, Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon, will testify to the Senate Commerce committee on Wednesday. Mr. Armstrong will be joined by fellow Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan — the last man to walk on the Moon. Armstrong landed on the Moon along with Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11 in 1969. Cernan and Harrison (Jack) Schmitt (later a U.S. Senator) visited the Moon on Apollo 17 in 1972. Also testifying Wednesday will be Presidential Science Adviser John Holdren, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, and Norm Augustine who chaired the 2009 Augustine Committee that provided options to the Obama Administration on the future of the human space flight program..

Armstrong, Cernan and Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell signed an open letter to President Obama just before his April 15 speech at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) arguing for continuation of the Constellation program. By contrast, Aldrin is a strong supporter of the Obama plan and accompanied the President to KSC.

The hearing is at 2:30 on Wednesday in 253 Russell Senate Office Building.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Schmitt also signed the letter. Schmitt was one of a number of former astronauts and other officials who signed a different letter to the President also supporting the Constellation program. Cernan and Lovell also signed that letter, but not Armstrong.