    [Senate Hearing 110-1196]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                           S. Hrg. 110-1196

                        NATIONAL IMPERATIVES FOR EARTH
                                SCIENCE RESEARCH

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   before the

            SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE, AERONAUTICS, AND RELATED SCIENCES

                                     OF THE

                             COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,
                          SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                           ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                 MARCH 7, 2007

                                   __________

        Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
                                 Transportation

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           SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                           ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                       DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Chairman
    JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West         TED STEVENS, Alaska, Vice Chairman
        Virginia                         JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
    JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts         TRENT LOTT, Mississippi
    BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota        KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas
    BARBARA BOXER, California            OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine
    BILL NELSON, Florida                 GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon
    MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
    FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey      JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire
    MARK PRYOR, Arkansas                 JIM DeMINT, South Carolina
    THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           DAVID VITTER, Louisiana
    CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri           JOHN THUNE, South Dakota
    AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
       Margaret L. Cummisky, Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel
    Lila Harper Helms, Democratic Deputy Staff Director and Policy Director
                  Margaret Spring, Democratic General Counsel
       Christine D. Kurth, Republican Staff Director, and General Counsel
       Kenneth R. Nahigian, Republican Deputy Staff Director, and Chief
                                    Counsel
                                     ------

            SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE, AERONAUTICS, AND RELATED SCIENCES

    BILL NELSON, Florida, Chairman       KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas,
    JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts             Ranking
    BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota        TRENT LOTT, Mississippi,
    MARK PRYOR, Arkansas                 JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page
    Hearing held on March 7, 2007....................................     1
    Statement of Senator Nelson......................................     1

                                   Witnesses

    Brown, Ph.D., Otis D., Dean, Rosenstiel School of Marine and
      Atmospheric Science, University of Miami; Member, Committee on
      Earth Science and Applications from Space, National Research
      Council, The National Academies................................    24
        Prepared statement...........................................     8
    Colleton, Nancy, President, Institute for Global Environmental
      Strategies; Executive Director, Alliance for Earth Observations    26
        Prepared statement...........................................    14
    Freilich, Dr. Michael H., Director, Earth Science Division,
      Science Mission Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space
      Administration.................................................    23
        Prepared statement...........................................    10
    Moore III, Ph.D., Berrien, Distinguished Professor and Director,
      Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University
      of New Hampshire; Co-Chair, Committee on Earth Science and
      Applications from Space, National Research Council, The
      National Academies.............................................    22
        Prepared statement...........................................     3

                NATIONAL IMPERATIVES FOR EARTH SCIENCE RESEARCH

                                  ----------

                            WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2007

                                   U.S. Senate,
       Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics, and Related
                                              Sciences,
             Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:38 p.m. in
    room SR-253, Russell Senate Office Building. Hon. Bill Nelson,
    Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding.

                OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. BILL NELSON,
                       U.S. SENATOR FROM FLORIDA

        Senator Nelson. Good afternoon, and thank you all for
    coming. This is not a hearing on global warming, because the
    jury is already in and the conclusions have been overwhelming.
    There's almost near-unanimity of the world's leading scientists
    that the climate is changing, and we are responsible.
        It is especially sensitive for my state for the obvious
    reasons of being a peninsula with more coastline than any other
    state in the continental United States.
        So, today we're going to examine the more specific issue of
    whether you scientists have the tools that you need to monitor
    our fragile planet, and to study how what we're doing as humans
    is affecting it.
        This is simply a time in which we cannot afford any
    mistakes. For more than 40 years, NASA has developed satellites
    to study this planet, and they have ever-increasing accuracy.
    Go back to the 1960's TIROS satellites, those fuzzy views have
    now turned to the high-quality views that we have today. Space
    has clearly turned out to be the best vantage point from which
    we can study and observe this planet.
        We depend on these instruments, certainly to forecast our
    weather. If anybody ever doubts the utility of those
    instruments, just wait until you have an inbound hurricane, and
    you're absolutely glued to either the website of NOAA, the
    Weather Channel, or the local channel, that's giving you these
    accurate satellite views, along with NOAA's predictions from
    the National Hurricane Center.
        We depend on these instruments to forecast the weather, to
    predict and respond to natural disasters, and to study our
    climate and the Earth's ecosystems. They even help us measure
    the effects of land-use, deforestation, and pollution. NASA's
    history is filled with successful missions, like Landsat, and
    the Earth Observing System.
        Just a week ago, during our recess, I took off to Latin
    America visiting with several heads of state on a mission to
    build our relationships in that region of the world and
    throughout the Western Hemisphere.
        But one of the things that I wanted to do en route from
    having seen the President of Ecuador, going to see the
    President of Peru, was to go to the rainforest. There wasn't
    any sense of me going to the rainforest in Brazil, because they
    were all off at Carnival. But, they were available in the
    rainforest in the east of the Andes in Peru. I wanted to see
    for myself the destruction of the rainforest, in this case the
    uplands of the rainforest. On the sides of those mountains
    there was destruction, not so much for logging, but for the
    growing of coca and other plants, and legitimate crops.
        I shared with them that I became interested in
    deforestation 21 years ago, when I looked out the window of a
    spacecraft, coming across South America when, with the naked
    eye, I could see the destruction of the rainforest, because of
    the color contrast 203 miles away on the surface of the Earth
    below. In the same window of the spacecraft, I could look to
    the east, and see the result of the destruction of the
    rainforest. At the mouth of the Amazon the waters of the
    Atlantic were discolored for hundreds of miles out in the
    Atlantic from the additional silt.
        I want to understand that. I want to understand also, and
    this Committee wants to understand, how you all can help us
    understand so much of this delicate, fragile, but extremely
    beautiful place we call home that is suspended out in the
    middle of nothing.
        Today there is a reason for concern, for what my naked eye
    saw 21 years ago, and what my naked eye saw a week and a half
    ago on the sides of those lower Eastern Andes. We've tried to
    adjust to all of this, and we have a next-generation weather
    and earth satellite system, NPOESS--it's in trouble.
        The project is billions of dollars over budget, it's years
    behind schedule, and the key climate science instruments have
    been thrown overboard to keep the program alive. And while the
    President's 2008 budget request does include a miniscule
    increase, spending on Earth Science peaked in 2000, and has
    since decreased by 25 percent.
        Likewise, the number of Earth Science missions and
    instruments peaked earlier this decade, and is now in a slow
    decline. The President's request this year is a billion and a
    half for these Earth Science projects, and you all would like
    them to be $2 billion. I want to hear from you, the Committee
    wants to hear from you.
        This is not so much a problem of misplaced priorities, but
    rather, NASA is being asked to do too much with too little. And
    in this tough budget environment, it's tough to get these
    colleagues, it's tough to get them here to a hearing, it's
    tough to get them to join in supporting the program recommended
    by the Decadal Survey. Not at the expense of the other
    priorities, but by giving NASA the resources it needs to
    accomplish all of its vital missions.
        So, I want to welcome Dr. Freilich, Dr. Moore, Dr. Brown,
    Ms. Colleton. We're going to do something a little bit
    different. I'm going to take all of your prepared texts, they
    will be a part of the record. We're just going to have a
    conversation. When some of the other Senators come, I'll just
    stop and I'll let them jump right in. What we want to do is to
    get the maximum benefit of your thinking on what we should do.
        [The prepared statements of the witnesses follow:]

    Prepared Statement of Berrien Moore III, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor
      and Director, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space,
     University of New Hampshire; Co-Chair, Committee on Earth Science and
       Applications from Space, National Research Council, The National
                                   Academies
        Mr. Chairman, Ranking Minority Member, and members of the
    Committee: thank you for inviting me here to testify today. My name is
    Berrien Moore, and I am a professor of systems research at the
    University of New Hampshire and Director of the Institute for the Study
    of Earth, Oceans, and Space. I appear today in my capacity as co-chair
    of the National Research Council (NRC)'s Committee on Earth Science and
    Applications from Space: A Community Assessment and Strategy for the
    Future.
        The National Research Council is the unit of the National Academies
    that is responsible for organizing independent advisory studies for the
    Federal Government on science and technology. In response to requests
    from NASA, NOAA, and the USGS, the NRC has recently completed a
    ``Decadal Survey'' of Earth Science and Applications from space.
    (``Decadal surveys'' are the 10-year prioritized roadmaps that the NRC
    has done for 40 years for the astronomers; this is the first time it is
    being done for Earth Science and Applications from space.) Among the
    key tasks in the charge to the Decadal Survey committee were to:

       Develop a consensus of the top-level scientific questions
            that should provide the focus for Earth and environmental
            observations in the period 2005-2020; and

       Develop a prioritized list of recommended space programs,
            missions, and supporting activities to address these questions.

        The NRC survey committee has prepared an extensive report in
    response to this charge, which I am pleased to be able to summarize
    here today. Over 100 leaders in the Earth Science community
    participated on the survey steering committee or its seven study
    panels. It is noteworthy that this was the first Earth Science Decadal
    Survey, and the Committee and panel members did an excellent job in
    fulfilling the charge and establishing a consensus--a task many
    previously considered impossible. A copy of the full report has also
    been provided for your use.
        The Committee's vision is encapsulated in the following
    declaration, first stated in the Committee's April 2005 Interim Report:
    \1\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ NRC, Earth Science and Applications from Space: Urgent Needs
    and Opportunities to Serve the Nation, The National Academies Press,
    Washington, D.C., 2005. Also available online at http://www.nap.edu/
    catalog/11281.html.

            ``Understanding the complex, changing planet on which we live,
            how it supports life, and how human activities affect its
            ability to do so in the future is one of the greatest
            intellectual challenges facing humanity. It is also one of the
            most important challenges for society as it seeks to achieve
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            prosperity, health, and sustainability.''

        As detailed in the Committee's final report, and as we were
    profoundly reminded by the latest report from the International Panel
    on Climate Change (IPCC), the world faces significant and profound
    environmental challenges: shortages of clean and accessible freshwater,
    degradation of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, increases in soil
    erosion, changes in the chemistry of the atmosphere, declines in
    fisheries, and above all the rapid pace of substantial changes in
    climate. These changes are not isolated; they interact with each other
    and with natural variability in complex ways that cascade through the
    environment across local, regional, and global scales. Addressing these
    societal challenges requires that we confront key scientific questions
    related to ice sheets and sea level change, large-scale and persistent
    shifts in precipitation and water availability, transcontinental air
    pollution, shifts in ecosystem structure and function in response to
    climate change, impacts of climate change on human health, and
    occurrence of extreme events, such as hurricanes, floods and droughts,
    heat waves, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
        Yet at a time when the need has never been greater, we are faced
    with an Earth observation program that will dramatically diminish in
    capability over the next 5-10 years.
        The Interim Report described how satellite observations have been
    critical to scientific efforts to understand the Earth as a system of
    connected components, including the land, oceans, atmosphere,
    biosphere, and solid-Earth. It also gave examples of how these
    observations have served the nation, helping to save lives and protect
    property, strengthening national security, and contributing to the
    growth of our economy \2\ through provision of timely environmental
    information. The Interim Report documented that NASA had canceled,
    scaled back, or delayed at least six planned missions (Table 1),
    including a Landsat continuity mission. This led to the main finding in
    the Interim Report: ``this system of environmental satellites is at
    risk of collapse.''
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ It has been estimated that one third of the $10 trillion U.S.
    economy is weather-sensitive or environment-sensitive (NRC, Satellite
    Observations of the Earth's Environment: Accelerating the Transition of
    Research to Operations, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.,
    2003).

       Table 1.--Canceled, Descoped, or Delayed Earth Observation Missions
        [From the April 2005 Pre-Publication of the Interim Report of the
          Decadal Survey on Earth Science and Applications from Space]
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Mission        Measurement      Societal benefit         Status
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Global        Precipitation       Reduced             Delayed
     Precipitati                       vulnerability to
     on                                floods and
     Measurement                       droughts;
     (GPM)                             improved
                                       capability to
                                       manage water
                                       resources in arid
                                       regions; improved
                                       forecasts of
                                       hurricanes.
    Atmospheric   Temperature and     Protection of life  Canceled
     Soundings     water vapor         and property
     from                              through improved
     Geostationa                       weather forecasts
     ry Orbit                          and severe storm
     (GIFTS--Geo                       warnings.
     stationary
     Imaging
     Fourier
     Transform
     Spectromete
     r)
    Ocean Vector  Wind speed and      Improved severe     Canceled
     Winds         direction near      weather warnings
     (active       the ocean surface   to ships at sea;
     scatteromet                       improved crop
     er follow-                        planning and
     on to                             yields through
     QuikSCAT)                         better
                                       predictions of El
                                       Nino.
    Landsat Data  Land cover          Monitoring of       Canceled
     Continuity-                       deforestation;
     -bridge                           identification of
     mission (to                       mineral
     fill gap                          resources;
     between                           tracking of the
     Landsat-7                         conversion of
     and NPOESS)                       agricultural land
                                       to other uses.
    Glory         Optical properties  Improved            Canceled
                   of aerosols;        scientific
                   solar irradiance    understanding of
                                       factors that
                                       force climate
                                       change.
    Wide Swath    Sea level in two    Monitoring of       Instrument
     Ocean         dimensions          coastal currents,   canceled--descope
     Altimeter                         eddies, and         of an enhanced
     (on the                           tides, all of       OSTM
     Ocean                             which affect
     Surface                           fisheries,
     Topography                        navigation, and
     Mission,                          ocean climate.
     OSTM)
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Since the publication of the Interim Report, the Hydros and Deep
    Space Climate Observatory missions were canceled; the flagship Global
    Precipitation Mission was delayed for another two and a half years;
    significant cuts were made to NASA's Research and Analysis program; the
    NPOESS Preparatory Project mission was delayed for a year and a half; a
    key atmospheric profiling sensor planned for the next generation of
    NOAA geostationary satellites was canceled; and cost overruns led to
    the NPOESS program undergoing a ``Nunn-McCurdy'' review. The
    recertified NPOESS program delays the first launch by 3 years,
    eliminates 2 of the planned 6 spacecraft, and de-manifests or de-scopes
    a number of instruments, with particular consequences for measurement
    of the forcing and feedbacks that need to be measured to understand the
    magnitude, pace, and consequences of global and regional climate
    change.
        It is against this backdrop that I discuss the present report.
        The Decadal Survey presents a vision for the Earth Science program;
    an analysis of the existing Earth observing system and recommendations
    to help restore its capabilities; an assessment of and recommendations
    for new observations and missions needed for the next decade; an
    examination of and recommendations concerning effective application of
    those observations; and an analysis of how best to sustain that
    observation and applications system. A critical element of the study's
    vision is its emphasis on the need to place the benefits to society
    that can be provided by an effective Earth observation system on a par
    with scientific advancement.
        The integrated suite of space missions and supporting and
    complementary activities that are described in our report will support
    the development of numerous applications of high importance to society.
    The expected benefits of the fully-implemented program include:

       Human Health

        More reliable forecasts of infectious and vector-borne disease
            outbreaks for disease control and response.

       Earthquake Early Warning

        Identification of active faults and prediction of the likelihood of
            earthquakes to enable effective investment in structural
            improvements, inform land-use decisions, and provide early
            warning of impending earthquakes.

       Weather Prediction

        Longer-term, more reliable weather forecasts.

       Sea Level Rise

        Climate predictions based on better understanding of ocean
            temperature and ice sheet volume changes and feedback to enable
            effective coastal community planning.

       Climate Prediction

        Robust estimates of primary climate forcings for improved climate
            forecasts, including local predictions of the effects of
            climate change; determination in time and space of sources and
            sinks of carbon dioxide.

       Freshwater Availability

        More accurate and longer-term precipitation and drought forecasts
            to improve water resource management.

       Ecosystem Services

        More reliable land-use, agricultural, and ocean productivity
            forecasts to improve planting and harvesting schedules and
            fisheries management.

       Air Quality

        More reliable air quality forecasts to enable effective urban
            pollution management.

       Extreme Storm Warnings

        Longer-term, more reliable storm track forecasts and
            intensification predictions to enable effective evacuation
            planning.

        I will now turn to a brief discussion of the budgetary implications
    of our recommendations.
        The President's FY08 budget request for NASA Earth Science is a
    mixture of some good news and bad news. The primary bit of good news is
    the small bottom line increases for 2008 and 2009. These increases
    address the needs of currently planned missions already in development,
    the completion of which is consistent with the Decadal Survey's
    baseline set of assumptions.
        Unfortunately, the out-year budgets reveal fundamental flaws in the
    budget and NASA's Earth Science plans--the budgets are totally
    inadequate to accomplish the Decadal Survey's recommendations. In 2010,
    the Earth Science budget begins to decline again and reaches a 20-year
    low, in real terms, in 2012. This decline reflects that the 2008 budget
    contains no provision for new missions, nor does it allow us to address
    the significant challenges facing our planet. These disturbing broad
    budgetary trends are captured in Figure 1.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Figure 1: The NASA Earth Science Budget in constant FY06 dollars
    (normalized for full-cost accounting across entire timescale; assumes 3
    percent/year inflation from 2006 to 2012). Mission supporting
    activities include Earth Science Research, Applied Sciences, Education
    and Outreach, and Earth Science Technology.
        Before turning to NOAA, I want to emphasize that the problems in
    the out-years appear to be due entirely to the lack of adequate
    resources. In fact, at a NASA town hall meeting that followed the
    release of our report on January 15, 2007 at the 2007 annual meeting of
    the American Meteorological Society, the head of NASA's Earth Science
    program, who appears today with me as a witness, stated that the
    recommendations in our report provided the roadmap for the Earth
    Science program we should have.
        The NOAA NESDIS budget picture is also a mixture of some good and
    bad news. In this case, the budget takes a small downturn in FY08,
    followed by significant growth in FY09-FY10, before turning down again
    in FY11 (Figure 2). It remains to be seen whether this $200 M/year
    growth in FY09 and FY10 can enable restoration of some of the lost
    capabilities to NPOESS and GOES-R. There appears to be no budgetary
    wedge for new starts. Finally, for a variety of reasons, the NOAA
    NESDIS budget is far from transparent, especially in the out-years.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Figure 2: The NOAA NESDIS Budget in constant 2006 dollars (assumes
    3 percent/year inflation from 2006-2012). Mission supporting activities
    include NOAA's Data Centers and Information Services, Data System
    Enhancements, Data Exploitation, and Information Services, and
    Facilities and Critical Infrastructure Improvements.
        As detailed in our report, between 2006 and the end of the decade,
    the number of operating U.S. missions will decrease dramatically and
    the number of operating sensors and instruments on NASA spacecraft,
    most of which are well past their nominal lifetimes, may decrease by
    some 35 percent. If present trends continue, reductions of some 50
    percent are possible by 2015.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Were this to pass, we would have chosen, in effect, to partially
    blind ourselves at a time of increasing need to monitor, predict, and
    develop responses to numerous global environmental challenges. Vital
    climate records, such as the measurement of solar irradiance and the
    Earth's response, will be placed in jeopardy or lost. Measurements of
    aerosols, ozone profiles, sea surface height, sources and sinks of
    important greenhouse gases, patterns of air and coastal pollution, and
    even winds in the atmosphere are among the numerous critical
    measurements that are at risk or simply will not occur if we follow the
    path of the President 2008 budget and the proposed out-year run out.
        Taking this path, we will also forgo the economic benefits that
    would have come, for example, from better management of energy and
    water, and improved weather predictions.\3\ Without action on the
    report's recommendations, a decades-long improvements in the skill in
    which we make weather forecasts will stall, or even reverse; this may
    be accompanied by diminished capacity to forecast severe weather events
    and manage disaster response and relief efforts. The nation's
    capabilities to forecast space weather will also be at risk, with
    impacts on commercial aviation and space technology.\4\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ In a typical hurricane season, NOAA's forecasts, warnings, and
    the associated emergency responses result in a $3 billion savings. Two-
    thirds of this savings, $2 billion, is attributed to the reduction in
    hurricane-related deaths, and one-third of this savings, $1 billion, is
    attributed to a reduction in property-related damage because of
    preparedness actions. Advances in satellite information, data
    assimilation techniques, and more powerful computers to run more
    sophisticated numerical models, have lead to more accurate weather
    forecasts and warnings. Today, NOAA's five-day hurricane forecasts,
    which utilize satellite data, are as accurate as its three-day
    forecasts were 10 years ago. The additional advanced notice has a
    significant positive effect on many sectors of our economy. See
    statement and references therein of Edward Morris, Director, Office of
    Space Commercialization, NOAA, Hearing on Space and U.S. National
    Power, Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces,
    U.S. House of Representatives, June 21, 2006. Available at: http://
    www.legislative.noaa.gov/Testimony/morris
    062106.pdf.
        \4\ Ibid.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        The world is facing significant environmental challenges: shortages
    of clean and accessible freshwater, degradation of terrestrial and
    aquatic ecosystems, increases in soil erosion, changes in the chemistry
    of the atmosphere, declines in fisheries, and the likelihood of
    significant changes in climate. These changes are occurring over and
    above the stresses imposed by the natural variability of a dynamic
    planet, as well as the effects of past and existing patterns of
    conflict, poverty, disease, and malnutrition. Further, these changes
    interact with each other and with natural variability in complex ways
    that cascade through the environment across local, regional, and global
    scales. To cope responsibly with these challenges requires information
    about our planet; it requires us to expand our scientific basis for
    foreseeing potential changes and patterns, and this science is
    dependent upon expanded space-based observation. The needed new
    missions are set forth in the Decadal Survey; these missions need to be
    implemented in the coming decade.
        I would like to thank the Committee for inviting me to testify, and
    I would be delighted to answer any questions.
                                     ______

    Prepared Statement of Otis B. Brown, Ph.D., Dean, Rosenstiel School of
    Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami; Member, Committee
        on Earth Science and Applications from Space, National Research
                        Council, The National Academies
        Mr. Chairman, Ranking Minority Member, and members of the
    Committee: thank you for inviting me here to testify today. My name is
    Otis Brown, and I am Dean of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and
    Atmospheric Science, University of Miami. I am also a member of the
    National Research Council's Committee on Earth Science and Applications
    from Space.
        As dean of the Rosenstiel School, I have first-hand experience how
    satellite observations provide real-world results. Following Hurricane
    Katrina, imagery from our Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced
    Remote Sensing (CSTARS) assisted relief and recovery efforts in New
    Orleans, tracking to see when and where flood waters had receded to
    increase the effectiveness of rescue efforts. Also pertinent to the
    environmental challenges presenting themselves in the Gulf states, we
    employed satellite imagery that identifies the rate of subsidence in
    the Mississippi Delta and New Orleans--equally invaluable information
    when making decisions about the reality and requirements of rebuilding
    in this area and long-term environmental challenges. This same imagery
    is what we use to monitor water levels in the Everglades and outbreaks
    of red tide. And, uses for satellite data only continue to grow as we
    learn to ``see'' phenomena like changes in sea surface temperature, sea
    level, and the size of polar ice caps. I cannot emphasize enough how
    vital satellite imagery has become to earth observation and
    consequently our ability to predict, plan, prepare, and respond.
        I've been asked to discuss my perspectives on the ``National
    Imperatives for Earth Sciences Research.'' This topic includes areas
    relevant to many parts of the Federal Government. My testimony today
    focuses on the roles of NASA and NOAA. It also addresses some resource
    and coordination issues for these two agencies.
        As you may know I have been part of the team that recently produced
    a decadal plan for Earth observations from space, which provides a
    prioritized roadmap. Our vision is captured in the following
    declaration:

            Understanding the complex, changing planet on which we live,
            how it supports life, and how human activities affect its
            ability to do so in the future is one of the greatest
            intellectual challenges facing humanity. It is also one of the
            most important challenges for society as it seeks to achieve
            prosperity, health, and sustainability.

        As detailed in the NRC report, and further emphasized by the latest
    report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), our
    planet is faced with a number of significant scientific and societal
    challenges and their impacts on key parts of our society, economy, and
    health. The two-year study contained in the NRC report delineates how
    NASA's Earth Science budget has declined 30 percent since 2000, with
    more funding reductions planned as its priority missions of manned
    trips to Mars and a station on the Moon take further hold. The National
    Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) likewise faces funding
    challenges with its National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental
    Satellite System (NPOESS)--now 3 years behind schedule and $3 billion
    over budget. Additionally, many of the satellite system's advanced
    weather and climate instruments have been dropped to address cost and
    schedule challenges. Meanwhile, current satellites continue to age, and
    many of us foresee major shortcomings in satellite observations by the
    end of this decade that will undo much of the progress we have made in
    Earth observation and weather prediction.
        So, at a time when our need for understanding the Earth system and
    the need for Earth observations have never been greater, we are faced
    with declining investments in Earth Science, and, an Earth observation
    program that will significantly diminish in capability over the next
    decade.
        The first question the National Research Council committee had to
    address was the national capabilities for Earth observations. We were
    troubled by the answer.
        We found that the current investment strategies had led to a system
    at risk of collapse. That assessment was based on the observed decline
    in funding for Earth observation missions in NASA and the consequent
    cancellation, downsizing, and delay of a number of critical missions
    and instruments in both agencies. Since the interim report, matters
    have only worsened, with further cancellations, descopings and delays
    of NOAA and NASA satellite plans. This will result in an overall
    degradation of the network of Earth observing satellites.
        There are many potential consequences. Some examples are:

       Weather forecasts and warnings may become less accurate,
            putting more people at risk and diminishing the proven economic
            value of accurate forecasts--this is particularly important to
            this country since we must cope with many forms of extreme
            weather, be it in the form of hurricanes, tornadoes, drought,
            floods or winter storms.

       Climate variability and the rate of change need to be better
            quantified. Earth is warming because of a small imbalance
            between incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation from
            Earth. Without the recommended measurements, we will not be
            able to quantify how this net energy imbalance is changing, or
            when or if the planet will stop warming.

       Climate models have improved steadily over the years, but
            are far from perfect and must be improved if we are to
            intelligently cope with climate change. Satellites provide
            unique observations of the Earth system and validate and
            improve these models.

       Sea level is rising and glaciers and ice-fields around the
            world are melting, but we just don't know how fast these are
            occurring. Without continuing quantitative observations
            provided via satellites, we can't know how these rates change
            or the implications for coastal communities.

       Satellite observations could well be pivotal in resolving a
            controversy about whether the frequency and intensity of
            hurricanes are increasing; observations of the atmosphere and
            oceans are essential.

       The limited signals of cataclysmic activity come through
            vigilant observation. That means the risk of missing early
            detection of earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions will
            increase.

       The bottom line is: Earth Science is based fundamentally on
            observations. While it is impossible to predict what scientific
            advances will not occur without the observations, or what
            surprises we will miss, we can be sure the rate of scientific
            progress will be greatly slowed--perhaps even undone to some
            degree. Without a doubt, it takes us backward rather than
            forwards.

        Significant advances in hurricane forecasting over the past three
    decades have come from orbiting satellites that take timely, high-
    resolution pictures and provide improved estimates of surface wind over
    the ocean. The satellite images are all over the TV for the public to
    view, but scientists, dissect them further. From sea level, sea surface
    temperatures and winds to red tide outbreaks and oil spills, satellite
    observations afford us a better, informed view of our Earth.
        The climate debate has been driven by debate over model
    capabilities and the lack of long-term critical observations relevant
    to climate. Many of the capabilities to make such observations exist in
    the research domain, but have not been transitioned into an operational
    setting. Our NRC report noted the difficulties in transferring NASA and
    NOAA research into operational use. That is because there is currently
    no process to include the necessary scientific input, resources and
    exploitation capabilities to either facilitate or to define this
    transition. Thus, we are seeing the winding down of the NASA Earth
    Observing System and its broad Earth observing capabilities and
    information delivery systems, with no apparent way for our Nation to
    harvest the fruits of this multi-billion dollar investment, or, to
    continue prototype research systems with proven operational value. The
    follow-on NOAA system, NPOESS, is late and more than likely will not
    overlap the NASA systems, and, most of the climate-related capabilities
    are not in its baseline. Put succinctly, much needed long-term time-
    series of Earth processes required for decisions in this changing world
    will be lost. This is due to the lack of a functional relationship
    between research (NASA) and operations (NOAA) for Earth observing
    systems, and, a lack of resources in NOAA to address all of its Earth
    observing requirements.
        The challenge in Earth Sciences is that the breadth of study is so
    large that it's difficult to develop a set of priorities across
    disciplines. This is the first ever report to provide an integrated set
    of national priorities for Earth observing from space. It's equally
    difficult for anyone to imagine how it affects them individually. Often
    times, it seems we speak in a foreign language about solar irradiance,
    vector sea surface winds, limb sounding of ozone profiles and water
    vapor soundings from geostationary and polar orbits--perhaps this is
    not the clearest way for the public to understand how humans have
    become dependent on tools that reside in outer space.
        What is important to understand about the plan our committee
    recommended is that its financial requirements are not astronomical. In
    fact, implementing all of the recommendations requires only that we
    bring the program up to funding levels comparable to the year 2000. The
    plan we recommend calls for undertaking 17 new NASA and NOAA missions
    in the period 2008-2020, as well as restoring some of the capabilities
    lost on NPOESS and GOES, and revitalizing a few delayed NASA missions
    like GPM and Landsat. Our recommendations for NASA can be implemented
    in an extremely cost-effective manner. The Committee understood the
    financial constraints and therefore had to find missions capable of
    tackling several scientific questions simultaneously. The result is
    that we reduced the number of possible new missions from more than 100
    down to 17 broad-ranging, high-value, multipurpose missions. But to
    accomplish this, NASA's Earth Science budget must be restored to year
    2000 funding levels. We think this is very reasonable given the obvious
    societal needs and benefits.
        The truth of the matter is that this field of science is
    inextricably linked to our daily life and that of future generations.
    Climate variability and natural disasters are taking a significant toll
    on our economy, our environment, and our well being. And, that is why
    we must sustain the Earth observations that underpin national
    preparedness and response. Implementing these missions will not only
    greatly reduce the risk of natural disasters of all kinds to the people
    of our country and the world, they will also support more efficient
    management of natural resources including water, energy, fisheries, and
    ecosystems, and support the economy. Thus, the cost of the program is
    repaid many times over.
        The observing system we envision is affordable and will help
    establish a firm, sustainable foundation for Earth Science and real
    societal benefits through the year 2020 and beyond.
        Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I would
    be pleased to answer any questions that you may have.
                                     ______

    Prepared Statement of Dr. Michael H. Freilich, Director, Earth Science
     Division, Science Mission Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space
                                 Administration
        Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the
    opportunity to appear today to discuss the President's FY 2008 budget
    request for NASA's Earth Science program. I welcome the chance to
    discuss the important area of Earth Science, especially in light of the
    recently released National Research Council's Earth Science Decadal
    Survey.
        NASA's FY 2008 budget request includes $1.5 billion for the study
    of planet Earth from space. This represents an increase of $27.7
    million over the FY 2007 budget request, and will fund a wide-ranging
    and balanced program of activities, including: developing, launching,
    and operating Earth-observing space missions; competitively selected
    research and analysis science investigations conducted by NASA and non-
    NASA researchers; Applied Science projects that help other Federal and
    regional agencies and organizations to efficiently use products from
    NASA Earth research to advance their missions; ongoing technology
    development efforts to enable the missions of the future; and,
    education and public outreach programs to make our knowledge of the
    Earth accessible to the world. NASA's budget request supports a
    balanced program, allocating over 30 percent of NASA's request for the
    Science Mission Directorate and within the Science Mission Directorate,
    allocating 27 percent of funding for Earth Science.
        NASA remains by far the largest single contributor to the
    interagency U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP). Much of the
    science community's present state of knowledge about global change--
    including many of the measurements and a significant fraction of the
    analyses which serve as the foundation for the recent report of the
    Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)--is derived from
    NASA's Earth Science program. To list just a few examples, using data
    from Earth observing satellites NASA-supported researchers are:
    monitoring ice cover and ice sheet motions in the Arctic and the
    Antarctic; quantifying the short-term and long-term changes to the
    Earth's protective shield of stratospheric ozone, including the
    positive impacts of the Montreal protocols; discovering robust
    relationships between increasing upper ocean temperature and decreasing
    primary production from the phytoplankton that form the base of the
    oceans' food chain; and, using a fleet of satellites flying in
    formation (the ``A-Train'') to make unique, global, near-simultaneous
    measurements of aerosols, clouds, temperature and relative humidity
    profiles, and radiative fluxes.
        Our improved understanding of Earth System processes leads to
    improvements in sophisticated weather and climate models, which in
    turn--when initialized using the satellite data--can be used to predict
    natural and human-caused changes in the Earth's environment over time
    scales of hours to years.
        Importantly, near-real-time measurements from NASA research
    missions (including the Tropical Rainfall Mapping Mission, QuikSCAT,
    the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument on the Aqua mission, and
    others) are used routinely by the National Oceanic Administration
    (NOAA) and other U.S. and international agencies to improve weather
    forecasting. Similarly, high quality measurements obtained by
    operational weather satellites provide essential context for the
    scientific analyses of the NASA research mission data.
        As of today, NASA is operating 14 Earth observing missions. Five
    more missions are quite far advanced in their development, and will be
    launched in 2008 and 2009. Of these, the National Polar-orbiting
    Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project
    (NPP) and the Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) will continue
    critical Earth System and climate measurements that were initiated by
    the Earth Observing System (for NPP) and the TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1
    missions (for OSTM). The Glory mission will fly an instrument to extend
    our measurements of total solar irradiance, as well as an instrument
    that will provide unique, first-ever measurements of properties of
    atmospheric aerosols. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) and the
    Aquarius mission will make new, first-of-a-kind global measurements of
    atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and ocean surface salinity--
    both parameters of known importance to the study of climate change.
        The FY 2008 budget request also funds the reconstituted Landsat
    Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) for launch in 2011, and the Global
    Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) for launch of its Core
    spacecraft not later than 2013, followed a year later by launch of the
    NASA GPM Constellation spacecraft. Extending the pioneering rain
    measurements initiated with the joint U.S.-Japanese Tropical Rainfall
    Mapping Mission, and providing a calibration standard for several other
    rain-measuring instruments orbited by others, the GPM mission will
    provide us with accurate, global rain measurements much more frequently
    than currently possible. Knowledge of accurate rainfall rates and
    atmospheric water quantities is essential for the study of the Earth's
    hydrologic cycle and its sensitivity to climate change. In addition,
    the GPM measurements will be used by operational weather prediction
    agencies around the globe to improve weather forecasts and severe storm
    predictions.
        Even as we are acquiring and analyzing measurements today, we are
    planning the satellites, field experiments, scientific investigations,
    and Earth System models of the future. The recently released Earth
    Science Decadal Survey provides, for the first time, a scientifically
    based, community consensus statement of the top priority future Earth
    System Science problems to be addressed, and it suggests a sequence of
    notional missions whose measurements could contribute to advancing our
    understanding of the Earth and its environment.
        We welcome the Decadal Survey--indeed, we asked for it. NASA, along
    with NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), requested and funded
    the National Research Council (NRC) to conduct this first Decadal
    Survey in Earth Science. We formally made the request in the fall of
    2003 and the study began in earnest in 2004. The massive undertaking
    was only completed this January. We are grateful for all of the efforts
    of the Co-Chairs and NRC staff, the members of the Decadal Survey
    Executive Committee, and the literally hundreds of Earth Science
    researchers who volunteered their time and their ideas. Their success
    in creating scientific consensus across the broad and diverse Earth
    Science community is a substantial achievement.
        The science priorities identified by the Decadal Survey will be our
    primary guide as we design and select Earth observing missions to be
    flown in the next 10-15 years. In the space sciences, NASA has a long
    history of guidance by NRC Decadal Surveys. Indeed, even in the Earth
    Sciences where this is the first Decadal Survey, the President's FY
    2008 budget request for NASA was guided by recommendations included in
    the interim report issued by the Decadal Survey committee in 2005. The
    FY 2008 budget request includes funding and predictable launch dates
    for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, the Glory aerosol and solar
    irradiance mission, and the Global Precipitation Mission, all of which
    figured strongly in the interim report.
        Unfortunately, the Decadal Survey arrived too late for its specific
    recommendations to influence the FY 2008 budget process, but its
    scientific priorities will be used in development of the FY 2009 and
    subsequent budget requests. NASA's FY 2008 budget request also includes
    funding for an additional, unspecified, competed flight mission, which
    will launch sometime around 2014. We will be guided by the Decadal
    Survey as we choose the scientific focus and instrument complement for
    this mission, starting no earlier than 2008.
        In addition to its science priorities and the notional mission set,
    the Decadal Survey provides several recommendations relevant to the
    design and implementation of the Earth Science flight program. Survey
    recommendations in the areas of international collaboration and
    technology investment deserve particular consideration.
        We all recognize that a constellation of missions and many
    simultaneous measurements--such as those obtained by the A-Train
    spacecraft described above--are needed to understand the interactions
    between Earth system processes. No agency or nation can afford to
    develop and fly all necessary missions single handedly.
        The Decadal Survey emphatically recommends international
    collaboration, to maximize humankind's benefits from our net investment
    in Earth Science, and to avoid unnecessary duplication. To this end, we
    have already begun discussions with our 5 closest international space
    agency partners: the Canadian, European, French, Japanese, and German
    space agencies. We have begun planning substantive bilateral meetings
    to be held this spring, to identify and refine areas of common interest
    and complementary expertise. We are also actively engaged--indeed NASA
    and the U.S. are leaders--in international coordination bodies such as
    the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and the
    international Group on Earth Observations (GEO). As with our present
    OSTM, Aquarius, and GPM missions, we anticipate substantial joint
    projects with international partners as we construct missions to
    address the Decadal Survey's science questions.
        Science-driven technology investment is one of the keys to the
    design and implementation of any future mission set. It is essential to
    have the technology developed and tested in a relevant environment
    prior to the approval of any mission. This helps to avoid cost overruns
    that occur when problems arise with a new technology late in the
    mission development cycle. To foster advanced technologies for Earth
    Science, NASA's strategy is two pronged as recommended by the Decadal
    Survey, with both focused technology and core technology elements.
        Where we know the missions we want to implement and what new
    technologies are required on a certain schedule, we make focused
    investments to assure technologies are available when we issue
    competitive solicitations for mission formulation and development. This
    is done through the highly successful Instrument Incubator Program,
    funded under the Earth Science Technology Office, which matures
    instrument technologies for future measurements.
        The second prong addresses the seed corn or ``core technologies,''
    for advanced Earth observing missions of the future. Where we know that
    certain classes of technologies are needed for the types of
    measurements we would like to make in the future, or are simply
    convinced that investment in certain sensor or detector technology
    areas will yield fruit, we will issue open, competitive solicitations
    for the best ideas. Examples include advanced component development
    (which allows scientists and technologists to take an idea from the
    concept to the bench top demonstration stage), laser risk reduction
    (which has developed fundamental lidar technologies applicable to
    multiple NASA missions), and advanced information systems technology
    development (which provides advanced operations technologies which aid
    in reducing future mission costs).
        The Decadal Survey, the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, and
    NASA's own planning in Earth Science all assume the presence of an
    operational system of environmental monitoring satellites that can make
    climate-quality measurements. The Nation needs such a system. That is
    why NASA is a member of the NPOESS governing body, and why NASA entered
    into a partnership with the NPOESS Integrated Program Office to develop
    the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP). NPP is designed both to continue
    essential measurements from NASA's Earth Observing System satellites as
    well as provide a demonstration of instruments to be flown on NPOESS.
        The Nunn-McCurdy-certified NPOESS program, as you are aware,
    focuses NPOESS on its weather mission and deletes many of the
    capabilities previously planned for climate science. It is thus
    important to recognize that the NRC's work is not yet done. As the
    Decadal Survey Committee was finalizing its notional mission set and
    sequence, the full impact of the removal of the climate sensors from
    the NPOESS program was just coming to light. In discussion with the
    NRC, NASA and NOAA have structured a follow-on activity wherein a
    subset of the Decadal Survey Committee, augmented by others they may
    deem necessary, would hold a workshop and provide input on how the
    agencies might mitigate the impact of the changes to NPOESS. We expect
    that the NRC workshop will take place no later than early summer, in
    time to provide recommendations useful for helping to determine the
    FY09 budget.
        NASA is proceeding with a mission roadmapping activity to determine
    the focus and content of our specific future Earth observing missions.
    The roadmap will integrate the scientific recommendations and priority/
    sequence of the Decadal Survey, the joint and ongoing NASA-NOAA
    examinations of the NPOESS Nunn-McCurdy changes, and the contributions
    of our international partners. Through a series of concept studies
    conducted at NASA centers (some actually begun in anticipation of the
    Decadal Survey mission suggestions), we are carefully examining the
    Decadal Survey's notional missions. The studies are assessing the
    technological readiness, system engineering challenges, and expected
    costs (including support for scientific validation and analysis of the
    mission data) of each notional missions. These concept studies are
    accessing the full capability of the NASA mission design and costing
    apparatus, to complement the estimates assigned by the NRC. As the
    roadmap evolves, community involvement will be assured through regular
    interactions with the Earth Science Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory
    Council, as well as existing discipline- and science-focus theme
    working groups which regularly inform our plans and examine our
    progress within the NASA Earth Science Division.
        The roadmapping process includes the anticipated update later this
    year to the NASA Earth Science Plan. Indeed when the Congress asked the
    Agency for a Science Plan in the NASA Authorization Act of 2005 (P.L.
    109-155), you recognized that the Decadal Survey would not be available
    in time to influence the Earth Science portion of that Plan. Therefore,
    NASA was asked to describe how it might revise that Plan based on the
    Earth Science Decadal Survey. The roadmapping activity and the Science
    Plan will address that question.
        While the scope and specificity of the roadmap clearly must exceed
    that of the Decadal Survey and must accommodate issues of programmatic
    balance and national needs, it is definitively not our intention to
    redo the Decadal Survey or to change the scientific priorities that it
    identified.
        As with decadal surveys in other parts of the Science Mission
    Directorate portfolio, this Decadal Survey is only the starting point
    for planning. However, planning in Earth Science is even more complex
    than in other divisions, given the web of partnerships and users of
    Earth Science data, and its societal impact. Considering the long time
    horizon in the NRC's report, it will require several budget cycles to
    implement the program that we will derive from the Decadal Survey's
    near- and mid-term recommended mission sets. Nevertheless, our planning
    process starts with the consensus scientific priorities articulated for
    us by the NRC. So I will close by re-iterating my gratitude to the
    decadal survey committee Co-chairs and members for their excellent
    work. NASA's commitment to Earth Science research is commensurate with
    theirs.

         Table 1.--NASA Earth Science Missions Currently in Development
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    NPOESS Preparatory Project (2009)     Ensures continuity of several key
    Strategic mission; Systematic          climate measurements between the
     measurement                           Earth Observing System and
                                           NPOESS. Implementation of the
                                           NPOESS Presidential Decision
                                           Directive of 1994. Joint mission
                                           with the NPOESS Integrated
                                           Program Office.
    Landsat Data Continuity Mission       Ensures continuity of long-term
     (2011)                                global land cover change data.
    Strategic mission; Systematic          Post-LDCM land imagery
     measurement                           acquisition by an operational
                                           agency is planned. Joint mission
                                           with USGS.
    Ocean Surface Topography Mission      Ensures continuity of ocean
     (2008)                                altimetry data; planned as part
    Strategic mission; Systematic          of a transition to operational
     measurement                           agencies. Joint mission with
                                           NOAA, CNES & EUMETSAT.
    Glory (2008)                          Addresses high priority objective
    Strategic mission; Initializes a       of the U.S. Climate Change
     systematic measurement                Science Program. Measure global
                                           aerosols & liquid cloud
                                           properties and solar radiation.
                                           Mandated by the Presidential
                                           Climate Change Research
                                           Initiative of 2001.
    Orbiting Carbon Observatory (2008)    Nearing completion of development.
    Competed mission; Earth System         First global measurement of CO2
     Science Pathfinder                    from space; small Earth Science
                                           mission.
    Aquarius (2009)                       In advanced stage of development.
    Competed mission; Earth System         First global measurement of sea
     Science Pathfinder                    surface salinity from space;
                                           small Earth Science mission.
                                           Joint mission with Argentina.
    Global Precipitation Measurement      Recommended by 2005 interim report
     (2013)                                of decadal survey committee;
    Strategic mission--Initializes a       extend spatial coverage to global
     systematic measurement                and temporal coverage to every 3
                                           hours with constellation.
    Earth System Science Pathfinder; TBD  Focus and relative priority to be
     (2014)                                determined using decadal survey;
    Competed mission                       solicitation no earlier than 2008
                                           for 2014 launch.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                     ______

     Prepared Statement of Nancy Colleton, President, Institute for Global
       Environmental Strategies; Executive Director, Alliance for Earth
                                  Observations
    Introduction
        Chairman Nelson, Ranking Member Hutchison, members of the
    Committee, special guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am Nancy Colleton,
    president of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, a non-
    profit, 501(c)3 organization. Our efforts are devoted to furthering
    knowledge of the Earth system and promoting the value and use of the
    technology tools that help us better understand our changing planet.
    The Institute's efforts include everything from developing resources
    for K-12 science education and teacher professional development, to
    facilitating international cooperative activities in Earth Science and
    applications.
        I am here today representing one of our major initiatives, the
    Alliance for Earth Observations--an informal confederation of
    organizations devoted to promoting Earth observations for social and
    economic benefit. The Alliance has been a strong advocate of the
    importance of engaging the private sector (industry, academia, and non-
    governmental organizations) in the planning of Earth observation
    systems, primarily the U.S. Integrated Earth Observation System (IEOS)
    and the multinational Global Earth Observation System of Systems
    (GEOSS).
        The Alliance membership is diverse and includes stakeholders such
    as system developers, data providers, geospatial technology firms,
    university-based research institutes, and a non-governmental
    organization that focuses on science applications for conservation.
    Since our effort began in December 2003, we have implemented an
    aggressive outreach effort to numerous business sectors (e.g., clean
    technologies, energy, agriculture, public health) to raise awareness of
    the importance of Earth observations. Attachment A includes a listing
    of the Alliance members. An Alliance Public Policy Statement on the
    Decadal Survey for Earth Observations is included in Attachment B.
        We are here today to examine one of the most critical tools of
    Earth Science: satellite observations. Whether we realize it or not, we
    all work in the field of Earth Science and benefit from satellite
    observations. Whether you are a policymaker, an investor, a farmer, a
    fisherman, or a truck driver, the Earth is changing and it is
    influencing our work, our decisions, our recreation, our resources, our
    economy, and our future. I am honored to participate in this important
    hearing, National Imperatives for Earth Science Research.
    Response to the Report
        The purpose of today's hearing is to discuss the recent National
    Research Council report, Earth Science and Applications from Space:
    National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond. I thank Drs.
    Berrien Moore and Rick Anthes on the leadership that they have provided
    as co-chairs of this study. I congratulate them and the other members
    of the Decadal Survey Committee on this exceptional report. As we all
    know, the quality and breadth of reports such as this don't just
    happen; they require a very dedicated and concerted effort.
        Quoting from the report, ``the United States' extraordinary
    foundation of global observations is at great risk. Between 2006 and
    the end of the decade, the number of operating missions will decrease
    dramatically and the number of operating sensors and instruments on
    NASA spacecraft, most of which are well past their lifetimes, will
    decrease by 50 percent.'' As my colleague, Governor Jim Geringer
    (former Governor of Wyoming) pointed out in his testimony on this topic
    on February 13th to the House Science and Technology Committee, ``That
    means a fifty percent reduction in today's already inadequate space-
    based information systems. . . . It is difficult to maintain your
    vision from a crumbling vantage point.''
        I offer four primary observations to this Senate Committee for your
    consideration and deliberation:

       The fact that the Decadal Survey Committee's vision for a
            decadal program in Earth observations went beyond fundamental
            science to consider ``increased applications to serve the
            Nation and people of the world'' is a significant and much-
            needed shift in approach to the U.S. program.

       The U.S. should buildupon our space-based Earth observation
            programs and move forward with the U.S. IEOS--incorporating
            space, aircraft, and in situ instruments, and the requisite
            analytical capabilities.

       Clear leadership is essential to resolve the issues and
            attain the goals identified in the Decadal Survey.

       The time to act is now.

    Increased Applications to Serve the Nation and the World
        This year, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Our Common
    Future, the groundbreaking report of the World Commission on
    Environment and Development led by former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro
    Harlem Brundtland. The report begins as follows:

            In the middle of the 20th century, we saw our planet from space
            for the first time. Historians may eventually find that this
            vision had a greater impact on thought than did the Copernican
            revolution of the 16th century, which upset the human self-
            image by revealing that the Earth is not the centre of the
            universe. From space, we see a small and fragile ball dominated
            not by human activity and edifice but by a pattern of clouds,
            oceans, greenery, and soils. Humanity's inability to fit its
            doings into that pattern is changing planetary systems,
            fundamentally. Many such changes are accompanied by life-
            threatening hazards. This new reality, from which there is not
            escape, must be recognized--and managed.

            Fortunately, this new reality coincides with more positive
            developments new to this century. We can move information and
            goods faster around the globe than ever before; we can produce
            more food and more goods with less investment and resources;
            our technology and science gives us at least the potential to
            look deeper into and better understand natural systems. From
            space, we can see and study the Earth as an organism whose
            health depends on the health of all its parts. We have the
            power to reconcile human affairs with natural laws and to
            thrive in the process. In this our cultural and spiritual
            heritages can reinforce our economic interests and survival
            imperatives.

        It is insightful that, even in 1987, world leaders recognized that
    not only would space technology help us understand the Earth, but that
    it could also be a unique tool to better manage our planet for social
    benefit and economic interests.
        But, it is disappointing that despite this powerful text published
    20 years ago, we are gathered here today for a hearing examining the
    decline in U.S. space-based Earth observing capabilities.
        Since that time, our U.S. systems have focused primarily on
    answering scientific questions, with applications of this data and
    information as a secondary objective. And, although we have seen
    significant growth and impact of operational programs at the National
    Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological
    Survey (USGS), science requirements are still what drive the
    development of our space-based systems.
        The fact that the Decadal Survey Committee's vision for an Earth
    observations decadal program went beyond fundamental science to
    consider ``increased applications to serve the nations and people of
    the world'' is a significant step and much-needed shift in approach to
    the U.S. program.
        We must recognize that the technologies that we are discussing
    today are the same technologies that:

       Enabled us to track and forecast Hurricane Katrina;

       Enabled us to discover and visualize the ozone hole;

       Allowed us to detect the impacts of the Indian Ocean tsunami
            and to determine the true extent of the devastation it caused;

       Continue to identify receding Arctic glaciers; and

       Were used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
            in their studies.

        Just last week, we again witnessed the benefit of Earth observation
    satellite technology to our nation:

       NOAA weather satellites provided critical lead time for the
            Southeast tornadoes (in some cases 12-55 minutes); and

       NASA's MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)
            on the Aqua satellite enabled us to view the extent of dust
            storms caused by high winds over Northern Texas (Dallas Morning
            News and Houston Chronicle reported that downed power lines
            left some 37,000 homes and businesses without power. Grass
            fires were also reported).

        The benefits of space-based data will not end this week or next. In
    fact, the need for this type of information and the responsibility of
    the United States as a world leader to maintain and share this
    important capability will only increase with the stress of climate
    change.
        In a January 12, 2007, speech to the World Affairs Council, Lord
    Levene, Chairman of Lloyd's, provided a global insurer's perspective on
    catastrophe trends and climate change. He stated, ``We cannot risk
    being in denial on catastrophe trends. We can expect to see U.S. mega-
    catastrophes with $100 billion insured losses soon. We urgently need a
    radical rethink of public policy, and to build the facts into our
    future planning.'' He added, ``The insurance industry will continue to
    play a vital role as enabler and rebuilder of the U.S. economy.'' U.S.
    satellite assets and the products provided as a result of space-based
    observations are critical to ensuring that insurance and other sectors
    have accurate and timely information.
        Not only should the United States strive to answer key scientific
    questions, but it should respond to the needs of a broad, non-
    scientific user community, which relies increasingly upon operational
    missions by NOAA. By this I mean how can we ensure that our national
    research program and technologies are meeting the needs of
    policymakers, state and local water managers, energy executives, and
    emerging areas such as the carbon finance market? This will involve
    additional study and possible correction of our current research-to-
    operations processes based on new engagement with the diverse and
    emerging user communities to provide more input to our national
    planning for new systems.
    Move forward with IEOS
        Former Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer, who testified to the Senate
    Commerce Committee in April 2006 on drought and the need for integrated
    information, also wrote in November 2006 to the Office of Management
    and Budget to express the need to fund IEOS, the U.S. contribution to
    the multinational Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).
    He wrote:

            Sir Francis Bacon coined the phrase ``Knowledge is power.''
            Today it's not about power but about empowerment as our country
            faces many challenges. More than ever we need better data-
            driven decisions. The first essential part is observation, the
            gathering of data. But we need more than data. Accurate and
            timely observations become information that leads to knowledge
            that enables decisions. We must reduce uncertainty to enable
            better risk management for businesses as well as protect
            citizens and save lives and property.

        In the December 2006-January 2007 issue of Environmental Finance
    Magazine, Vijay Gudivaka reported that ``Companies are working overtime
    to get a better understanding of their environmental impacts.'' The
    article discusses the need for more effective environmental data
    management and how companies are being challenged to develop data bases
    to better assess environmental, health, and safety information.
    Gudivaka writes, ``Whatever system is being used to collect and
    distribute environmental information needs to keep meeting the
    requirements of the business--or it has to change.''
        Without an established information infrastructure that builds upon
    our space-based Earth observation programs, we face many questions
    currently: Are our current systems meeting the needs of our businesses?
    Are our current systems protecting our citizens and property? . . .
    maintaining U.S. competitiveness? . . . ensuring that public and
    private sector decisionmakers, have, and will in the future have the
    information they need to respond to challenges like climate change? The
    Decadal Survey highlights the need to do more. My work with numerous
    business, academic, and non-government leaders also reveals that our
    systems must be improved to meet the requirements of business.
        Warren Isom, Senior Vice President, Willis Re Inc., and Board
    Member of the Weather Risk Management Association remarked at the Forum
    on Earth Observations last year, ``The weather risk market--in fact the
    risk-management business in general--has a profoundly strong interest
    in serious, systematic attempts to improve, expand and intensify the
    capture of data relating to our planet.''
        The current U.S. system must change to combine and integrate the
    valuable and extensive information sources and tools across all Federal
    agencies. This would create the IEOS, new interoperable systems that
    enable an unprecedented picture of our world, with a better
    understanding of intended benefits.
        The Alliance for Earth Observations believes that by embarking on
    the development of IEOS that the United States will:

       Give its citizens the single most important and
            comprehensive technology tool to monitor and respond to our
            changing world, thereby protecting lives and property;

       Give its Federal leaders and managers robust observational
            data and models that are fundamental to performance
            measurement, decision-making, and accelerating our
            understanding of environmental processes;

       Provide U.S. industry with the data needed to better manage
            risk and resources, make transportation decisions, create new
            business opportunities in environmental information products
            and services, and thereby impact long-term environmental
            sustainability;

       Enable our country to remain the world leader in energy
            development and management, agriculture productivity, marine
            transportation, public health and other areas;

       Support the global community by working in partnership with
            other countries to share and integrate important data and
            information; and

       Give future generations the knowledge and tools needed to
            leave a better world for each succeeding generation.

        IEOS will leverage Earth Science and technology for the benefit of
    U.S. citizens and the world. In the area of climate change, IEOS would
    provide accurate and timely observations as the foundation for guiding
    U.S. climate change policy, ensuring our Nation is moving in the right
    direction and providing the basis for knowing whether our policies are
    making the intended positive impacts we expect. The National Integrated
    Drought Information System (NIDIS), which is a key component of IEOS,
    would provide a proactive solution for U.S. citizens, delivering the
    ``business intelligence'' needed to manage the risk of drought.
    Regarding energy security, observations are critical to both the supply
    and demand sides of energy. On the supply side, all sources of
    alternative and renewable energy are highly dependent on environmental
    data. These energy resources include hydropower, wind, ocean energy
    (tide, current, wave), biofuels, photovoltaics, and geothermal sources.
    On the demand side, environmental conditions largely determine the
    overall demand for power as well as the variability in demand. By
    funding the IEOS, the United States would provide a new level of
    service to the American people to prevent, mitigate or manage the
    effects of natural hazards through linked and interactive systems that
    provide the United States and the world with greater forecasting
    capability. Even in the area of public health, IEOS would lead to:

       Improved air quality forecasting;

       Improved and earlier recognition of harmful algal blooms;

       Earlier recognition of the need for beach closures; and

       A national water quality monitoring system that, for the
            first time, would integrate disparate water quality systems
            into one comprehensive system--a major step forward for the
            United States.

        IEOS benefits can only be achieved through a common U.S. integrated
    information architecture. The benefits discussed in the previous
    paragraphs all depend on the development of a common observation and
    information system architecture for Earth observations. This
    architecture would facilitate information sharing between and among
    agencies as well as promulgate standards for terminology, data
    discovery, data access and transport, and service interfaces. This
    approach would enable our investment in environmental data, products
    and services to be leveraged by many communities of interest,
    generating value to both citizens and the economy through improved
    decisionmaking and incubation of a value-added market for environmental
    products and services. A robust and scalable architecture for an
    environmental enterprise would:

       Leverage federally funded activities in other data-rich
            domains;

       Enable communities of interest to easily and transparently
            access a variety of thematically diverse and geographically
            dispersed assets; and

       Enable any group or organization to easily connect their
            assets into the enterprise in an interoperable fashion without
            significant investment in information systems.

        IEOS would also advance the Global Earth Observation System of
    Systems (GEOSS), which is now supported by more than 66 countries and
    46 international organizations. This U.S.-initiated effort is intended
    to allow Federal interagency and multi-national coordination to assure
    that disparate environmental-related data systems here at home and
    abroad are interoperable and compatible. An effective IEOS effort
    should have clear designation of responsibilities, be enabled by a web-
    based system that allows rapid communication, funded across agency
    boundaries with a clear purpose. IEOS/GEOSS would improve the
    capabilities for today's decisionmakers by providing new information
    products. That is not the case today. IEOS has neither been funded nor
    has program leadership been designated.
    Clear Leadership Is Essential
        Clear leadership is essential to resolve the issues and attain the
    goals identified in the Decadal Study. The report before you calls for
    increased funding to improve our current national Earth monitoring
    capability. Yes, funding is important but the essential missing element
    is leadership. Scientific assessment, increased budgets, improved
    technical capabilities, and coordinated public-private engagement need
    designated, consolidated leadership. Critical elements including
    satellite and aircraft sensors, in situ instruments such as stream
    gauges, and geospatial information systems, have been fragmented among
    our Federal agencies, always a secondary mission, never the priority
    responsibility.
        Earth observation is not a priority mission for any designated
    agency at the cabinet level. Not within NASA, the Department of
    Commerce, the Department of the Interior nor any other Federal agency.
    The important technologies that enable us to measure climate change and
    identify and monitor the impacts to our environment, our lives and our
    livelihood are the sole responsibility of no one agency or person.
        Who should be the lead agency or position for U.S. Earth
    observation capabilities? What is our national vision for Earth
    observations? How are requirements from the Federal operational sector
    such as NOAA, USGS, USDA and EPA reflected in our research and
    development programs within NASA and NSF? Are requirements from the
    private sector being addressed?
        Without a designated lead, we will not see:

       These critical assets protected;

       A national Earth observations strategy that appropriately
            addresses climate change;

       The required investment for these programs appropriately
            reflected in agency plans and budgets;

       Our national investment fully leveraged for societal and
            economic benefit;

       The smooth transition from research to operations;

       Our land-observing capabilities elevated to the level of
            atmospheric and ocean observations;

       An improved engagement between government and the private
            sector (industry, Academia, and non-governmental
            organizations);

       The much-called-for integration of our national Earth
            observation systems; and

       The products needed to make the best decisions for our
            country and future generations.

        As a first step, I support the report's recommendation that:

            The Office of Science and Technology Policy, in collaboration
            with the relevant agencies, and in consultation with the
            scientific community, should develop and implement a plan for
            achieving and sustaining global Earth observations. Then a
            single point of contact or program office at the Cabinet level
            should be established to assure complementary rather than
            duplicative or fragmented effort for all operational aspects of
            Earth observation and analysis.

        I urge that the private sector--industry, academia, and non-
    governmental organizations--be consulted regarding an integrated plan
    for Earth observations.
    Time To Act
        As we are often reminded, time passes quickly.
        In preparation for this hearing, I reviewed numerous reports, one
    of which is noted earlier in this testimony and is entitled, Linking
    Remote Sensing Technology and Global Needs: A Strategic Vision. It was
    a report to NASA on applications. Ironically, the vision outlined in
    this 1987 report was as follows:

            The vision for the future is an Applications Information System
            available to all users--whether a large government agency or
            small local firm--that will provide overall benefits for the
            public good and further economic interests of the United
            States.

        What we knew 20 years ago, what the Brundtland Commission
    acknowledged in their groundbreaking report, and what we are reminded
    of today is that our nationally-funded Earth Science and operational
    technology programs are vital to our society and economy. If nothing
    else, I hope that the Decadal Survey will motivate you as policymakers
    and leaders to take action now--action to protect, leverage, and
    advance these assets so critical to protecting our nation, the world,
    and our future. Let us not 20 years from now simply acknowledge the
    words written by the Decadal Survey Committee, but rather be able to
    point to the Decadal Survey as a turning point for action and
    commitment to protect, further develop, and exploit these assets for
    benefit of the Nation and the world.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        The Alliance was formed in 2004 to facilitate participation by the
    private sector--industry, Academia, and nongovernmental organizations--
    in U.S. and international planning for Earth observations, especially
    as it relates to GEOSS. The Alliance for Earth Observations is an
    initiative of the nonprofit Institute for Global Environmental
    Strategies, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        The Alliance for Earth Observations commends the work started by
    the National Research Council Space Studies Board Committee on Earth
    Science and Applications from Space in its recently released report:
    Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the
    Next Decade and Beyond. This important report sheds light on the
    declining Earth observation capabilities of the United States and lays
    out priorities for the next decade for Earth observations from space.
    This report offers the foundation of a roadmap to bring the U.S. Earth
    Observation capability in line with expectations for meeting the global
    change and climate policy challenges we see so frequently in the
    headlines. Science information is needed to inform policy, and the
    ``Earth Science Decadal Survey'' as this report is called, points us in
    the direction we need to advance our national capability into the 21st
    Century.
        The members of the Alliance recognize the immense value to
    society--both in terms of economic benefits to our citizens and in
    meeting our responsibilities as stewards of our environment--of U.S.
    programs in space-based Earth observations. The Committee, capably led
    by Dr. Richard A. Anthes, President of the University Corporation for
    Atmospheric Research and Dr. Berrien Moore III, Professor and Director
    of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University
    of New Hampshire, was comprised of an outstanding team of subject
    matter experts. In their report, they have provided a very valuable
    prioritization of scientific questions that need to be addressed along
    with recommendations for the space-based missions that should be
    developed and launched to provide the data needed to address important
    societal issues--in the near, mid, and far term.
        The Alliance recognizes the challenge in the current budget climate
    of augmenting funding for multiple agencies charged with executing the
    Nation's operational and research Earth observations programs. In the
    recently released President's Budget Request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008,
    funding for satellite programs at the National Aeronautics & Space
    Administration (NASA), National Oceanographic & Atmospheric
    Administration (NOAA), and U.S. Geological Survey would not accommodate
    the recommendations of the report. The President's Budget, if enacted
    in FY-08, would enable NOAA to proceed with current acquisition plans
    for both the polar-orbiting and geostationary satellite programs, with
    their now-reduced instrument suites, and NASA to maintain momentum only
    on their current set of missions. The Alliance recognizes the
    importance of increasing U.S. Government funding to accomplish the
    recommendations in the report to advance our national Earth satellite
    programs. Funding would need to be implemented as top line budget
    increases, in order to not affect other important agency priorities.
        The Alliance agrees with the Decadal Survey and its predecessor
    reports from the National Academy of Sciences that current NOAA, NASA,
    and USGS budgets and programs do not include the programmatic structure
    needed to manage the research, development, and flight testing of new
    instrument technologies, and subsequent transition to operational
    missions, necessary to continue to evolve U.S. operational Earth
    observation capacity. Thorough technology demonstrations could have
    provided the risk mitigation needed to curtail decisions to cancel
    critically needed climate monitoring, ocean imaging, and advanced
    atmospheric sounding instruments from the NPOESS and GOES-R programs.
    Future plans and decisions can benefit from the report's
    recommendations to invest in developing next generation technologies
    and systems to reduce cost and schedule risks to operational programs.
    Implementation of the report's recommendation would be timely in
    addressing this longstanding problem.
        The Alliance for Earth Observations is a publicly and privately
    funded initiative of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
    to promote the understanding and use of land, air and sea observations
    for societal and economic benefit.
                                     ______

        Senator Nelson. So, Dr. Moore, do you consider the 17
    missions recommended in the survey an all-inclusive wish-list?
    Or do you consider it the minimum responsible complement of the
    measurement tools?

    STATEMENT OF BERRIEN MOORE III, Ph.D., DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR
      AND DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF EARTH, OCEANS, AND
                       SPACE, UNIVERSITY OF NEW
          HAMPSHIRE; CO-CHAIR, COMMITTEE ON EARTH SCIENCE AND
        APPLICATIONS FROM SPACE, NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, THE
                           NATIONAL ACADEMIES

        Dr. Moore. First of all, Senator thank you for inviting
    myself and my colleagues.
        I think, given what this planet is faced with--and you have
    articulated that well this afternoon--I believe it is the
    minimal responsible recommendation that looks at the challenges
    facing the planet.
        And it is not a wish list. We had a wish list--there were
    110 wishes put forth, with a lot of enthusiasm. And we cut that
    with NASA receiving 15, NOAA receiving 3, and one shared
    jointly, making a total of 17.
        I know it's expensive, but I believe there are ways that
    one can reach back to that restoration of $2 billion. It's
    certainly not going to be done in 1 year or 5 years, but
    there's a process that would be beneficial. I think it's a
    reasoned response to the challenges.
        Senator Nelson. What would be the impact if only a fraction
    of those 17 were implemented?
        Dr. Moore. Well, that would depend upon which fraction.
        For instance, let's suppose that we don't go ahead with
    Synthetic Aperture Radar that would give us the NSAR, the
    inframetric radar that gives us a much better understanding of
    earthquake potential. That's very valuable to this country, and
    very valuable to the planet.
        If we don't move forward with the recommended Aerosol
    Mission--we won't be capable of making aerosol observations
    when forests are burned, releasing tremendous pollutant loads
    of aerosols. Some of those aerosols actually lead to global
    cooling, many lead to global warming. So the only way to arrive
    at a balance is through observations of the aerosols.
        We recommended a CO2 mission that would be
    active, that is, by using a laser that could determine the
    sources and sinks of carbon dioxide, all around the planet; all
    seasons, all latitudes. If we're going to manage the carbon
    cycle, we've got to have that information. If you give that up,
    then that's not there.
        So, that's why we looked across what we thought was the
    appropriate suite--we know it's a challenge. We know it's a
    challenge. And in this budgetary climate, it's a very great
    challenge. But, the planet is facing very serious issues that
    are not going to go away. Earthquakes are not going to stop,
    hurricanes are not going to stop, global warming is not going
    to stop.
        Senator Nelson. What specific actions do you think should
    be taken to improve the interagency collaboration on Earth
    Science missions that we seem to have had such difficultly
    with?
        Dr. Moore. Let me just go back to that from the point that
    you raised, that we have seen this decline in the NASA budget.
    And then we had a corresponding increase in the NOAA budget to
    accomplish the NPOESS and the new GOESS. Now, we have a perfect
    storm. We lost the money in the NASA budget, and the increase
    in the NOAA budget did not turn out to give us what we thought
    we were going to get, so it's kind of a lose-lose situation.
        I think that there was a history of NASA essentially doing
    the R&D side, including the oversight, as we went into an
    operational sensor. It cost money, but NASA has the talent--the
    Goddard Space Flight Center, for instance, has the talent to
    give that kind of independent, tough oversight. I'd like to see
    us move back to the system that we had in place that brought
    about the NPOESS program, and the earlier GOESS program. We had
    trouble back then, but not like today.
        Senator Nelson. Anybody else want to jump in on that set of
    questions? Agency cooperation, collaboration? Dr. Freilich?

            STATEMENT OF DR. MICHAEL H. FREILICH, DIRECTOR,

          EARTH SCIENCE DIVISION, SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE,

             NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

        Dr. Freilich. Sure.
        First, let me say thanks to Dr. Moore, and all of the rest
    of the people on the Decadal Survey for the thoughtful
    identification of the science problems, and the guidance that
    it provides. We welcome the survey, in fact, we asked for it in
    2003.
        We take the survey's recommendations very, very seriously.
    In fact, in the Fiscal Year 2008 budget request--that's before
    you--we are taking care in NASA of all of the precursor
    missions that were identified in the interim report, as well as
    the Decadal Survey.
        In the next 2 years, we'll be launching five key climate
    spacecraft, and two more after that, up through 2013. The two
    later ones are the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), and
    the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission--all of those were
    highly rated in the Decadal Survey.
        So, we take that guidance extremely seriously, and we will
    be taking the guidance from the Decadal Survey, as the
    Administration puts together its Fiscal Year 2009 budget, and
    beyond.
        Relative to your question of interagency cooperation--it is
    a real challenge for this country, and it has been the
    challenge for some time. It's hard enough to design and
    implement and fly and validate and exploit the data from first
    copies of instruments, to then be able to do an interagency
    transfer, and have those measurements taken reliably on
    operational spacecraft, so that we can get the 30-year climate
    data records, which are essential--it's very, very difficult.
        In response, I believe to Congressional language in the
    2005 Authorization bill, NASA and NOAA are working quite hard
    together--we have a joint working group specifically focused on
    research to operations transition. While it is a challenge, and
    we haven't solved, certainly, all of those problems, or even
    many of those problems, I think we are strengthening the
    relationship between those two agencies. I'm new in this job at
    NASA, but it is certainly one of my very strong objectives, and
    a high-priority objective, for us to work much more
    efficiently, much more substantively together.
        Senator Nelson. Well, since you are relatively new to this
    position, I welcome you to get in and try to straighten out
    some of the problems between NASA and NOAA, and NPOESS includes
    the Air Force, as well, doesn't it?
        When Dr. Griffin was here last week, he questioned whether
    the Decadal Survey's cost estimates are too optimistic. Is
    NASA, Dr. Freilich, going to do its own estimates of the
    recommended missions, and share the results with everybody
    else?
        Dr. Freilich. Yes. We are embarking on an aggressive series
    of what we call concept studies, to look very, very carefully
    at the notional missions that were endorsed, especially the
    early ones, the highest-priority ones, from the Decadal Survey.
    The objective of these studies is to use the full costing and
    engineering analyses machinery of the NASA centers--JPL and
    Goddard, in particular--to address and understand the
    technological challenges inherent in getting the measurements
    that were identified by the Decadal Survey, and the full costs
    of these missions, including the launch vehicle, and
    especially, also, the science and the validation.
        We're moving aggressively forward on that now, now that we
    have the Decadal Survey's exact recommendations in terms of the
    measurements to be taken. When we have those engineering and
    cost analyses, we will much better be able to generate an
    integrated road map forward, taking into account the high-
    priority science that was identified by the Decadal Survey, the
    issues of NPOESS, and the removal of the climate instruments
    pursuant to Nunn-McCurdy, that you so eloquently discussed. And
    the contributions, interest and expertise of our international
    partners. So, we intend, within the next 12 to 15 months or so,
    to have an integrated, well-understood, road map forward to
    make progress. We've done the precursor missions--or I should
    say, we are finishing the precursor missions, and then we'll be
    in a position to move forward on the high-priority science that
    the Decadal Survey guides us toward.
        Senator Nelson. And when do you think those cost estimates
    would be available to the Committee?
        Dr. Freilich. We are working on them now, and we are--as I
    said, looking carefully at each one of those notional missions,
    also understanding what we need to do, and can do, to mitigate
    the NPOESS climate problem. And I think in some months--
    probably less than 6 months, we will have a fairly clear idea
    of the true full costs of those notional missions.
        Senator Nelson. Dr. Brown, you--OK, I'll get to Ms.
    Colleton in just a second--Dr. Brown, you've had some excellent
    testimony about Earth Science satellites, and Ms. Colleton. I
    want to ask you all about the impact of this research.

          STATEMENT OF OTIS D. BROWN, Ph.D., DEAN, ROSENSTIEL

               SCHOOL OF MARINE AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE,

            UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI; MEMBER, COMMITTEE ON EARTH

                  SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS FROM SPACE,

           NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

        Dr. Brown. Thank you, Senator.
        Let me step back for a minute, and talk about a bit of
    history here, and it will frame my answer a little better, I
    think relative to impacts.
        The history from the seventies, eighties and nineties, is
    that each Earth Science community approached NASA individually,
    and said, ``OK, as oceanographers, we need this,'' ``As
    meteorologists or atmospheric scientists, we need this,'' ``As
    land-cover, land-use people, we need this,'' ``As climate
    scientists, we need this.'' And NASA tried its best in the
    Earth Observing System to respond in an integrated way to all
    of these different ideas, requests and needs.
        The Decadal Survey was very different, in the sense that,
    as has happened in astronomy and other disciplines with NASA,
    NASA asked the community, ``You know, you guys are all Earth
    Scientists, why don't you get together and give us your best
    set of integrated priorities, rather than us having to decide
    what the priorities should be of everything you've asked?''
    That's a fundamental difference, and this downsizing of more
    than 100 different possibilities to the order of less than 20,
    is a result of--I wouldn't say smoke-filled rooms, not these
    days--but, you know, a lot of hard negotiation about saying,
    ``How is it that we can really get the highest priority needs
    of the broad community on the limited set of missions?''
        So, this is a different set of mission requests than
    anything NASA has ever seen before. But, it had to be built on
    a base, and this gets into the impacts. The base is what's in
    space now, the Earth Observing System and a number of other
    prototype research missions that are flying, things that have
    to do everything from trying to measure tropical rain rates, to
    surface vector winds--many different, very unique sorts of
    missions.
        But all of these missions are neither research or
    operational really. In most cases, they were launched as
    research missions, but they found operational niches within the
    government and private industry, not only in this country, but
    globally.
        And so, we're in an interesting situation. How do we
    sustain these research missions that now have operational
    needs? Whether it's for trying to better locate a hurricane, or
    it's trying to better understand issues of drought or rain run-
    off and floods in tropical regions. All of these results are
    coming out of, what you would think, looking at the title of
    the mission, was a research mission, not an operational one.
        So, that's a problem. There hasn't been a real functional
    mechanism to say, ``OK, we know it works, now how do we put it
    into a broader operational context?''
        So, one of the zero-order challenges for the Decadal Survey
    was, what's the foundation you build the future on? That's
    why--as you look at the high-priority missions, you might get
    what you think is a bit of a mixed message, because you hear
    people talking about NPOESS and climate sensors coming off of
    NPOESS and so on, and in fact, as you look at the projected set
    of missions from the Decadal Survey, it doesn't really give you
    a simple answer to that question.
        So, let me address the impacts. Impacts, I think, can be
    direct--operationally now, we're using surface vector winds
    from various different missions, actually, most all of them
    research, and in the hurricane community they've been shown to
    improve forecasts. Case in point--tropical rainfall measuring
    from space. Again, this is a capability that has had a strong
    impact.
        I think you could say that as you look at the breadth of
    this whole suite of missions from the mid-nineties to the early
    part of this millennium, that many of them have been moved into
    this quasi-operational context. But that context sits between
    what NASA has traditionally done, and what NOAA does, as its
    charter.
        So that's, why you won't get a totally straightforward
    answer to your question. I think it's demonstrable what can be
    done from space, it's demonstrable how long, I think, it'll
    last, but it's the ``Then what?'' question. And quite directly,
    in the Decadal Survey, we had to assume at the outset that
    NPOESS was going to happen on a certain timescale, with a
    certain implementation suite, and then go from there.
        And, I'd invite the co-chair, if he'd like to comment on
    this it was a very interesting and detailed, long-term debate
    within the survey, actually, about how to deal with a moving
    NPOESS suite of capabilities.
        Senator Nelson. Let me ask Ms. Colleton, what do you think?

     STATEMENT OF NANCY COLLETON, PRESIDENT, INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL
                   ENVIRONMENT STRATEGIES; EXECUTIVE
               DIRECTOR, ALLIANCE FOR EARTH OBSERVATIONS

        Ms. Colleton. I just wanted to make two points, my
    apologies, thank you.
        I just wanted to make two points in reference to the
    Decadal Survey. The first is that, I think what is most
    significant about the vision of the Decadal Program that was
    adopted by this committee that is primarily scientists, is that
    it went beyond looking just at fundamental science, and it
    looked at applications for the good of the Nation, and the
    world. And, I think this is a real much-needed shift as we see
    more and more private sector entities using this information.
    We're seeing new developments in our information technologies,
    that are making this information available to more people than
    ever before. Think of Google Earth, think of Microsoft Virtual
    Earth--and those are just the beginning. We will be able to
    access, and manipulate, and have decision-support tools like
    never before, in the future certainly.
        So, I think it's very important to recognize the essential
    part of applications. And, I agree with Dr. Brown, totally.
    When you look at, just for example, the TRIMM mission, the
    Tropical Rain Measurement mission--that mission is going on its
    10th year, I believe. It started out as a research mission, it
    was--its success criteria was 3 years, it's now in its 10th
    year. And it's very, very important to our hurricane
    forecasting. And it was some time ago--I think it was 2 years
    ago--that there was question as to whether NASA would continue
    to fund the operation of TRIMM, and NOAA was saying, ``But, we
    need those measurements for the upcoming hurricane season.''
        And so, there are going to continue to be those kinds of
    issues, until we have a clear research-to-operations transition
    plan for the Nation, which brings me to my second point.
        I think one of the things that has not been addressed by
    the Decadal Study that I really believe, as a country, we need
    to look at--and that's leadership. We recognize more and more
    how vital these systems are to our livelihood, our property,
    saving lives, I mean--being from Florida, you know well the
    importance of hurricane forecasting, and we still, you know, we
    see the kind of--the fact that we were able to evacuate 90
    percent of Southeast Louisiana with 40 hours advance notice
    with Katrina. That's better than we have ever been able to do.
        But, I believe that that transition where this information
    is no longer just available to the science community, but it's
    becoming more operational all the time, and we have our
    economy, is using this information and relying on this
    information more and more. I think it calls for a new look at
    how we're doing these programs, and leadership. Without
    leadership, these programs--the budgets for them--will never be
    protected. And, there will never be a long-term vision for, as
    a Nation, for what we should be doing in this area.
        Senator Nelson. Dr. Moore?
        Dr. Moore. Yes, let me pick up on that point. And, we had a
    specific recommendation--I should mention that the
    recommendation that we initially debated was how to reorganize
    the Federal Government, and we recognized we must be late in
    the days of the Committee to be reorganizing the Federal
    Government.
        And so we stepped back from that. And, and yet the
    motivation was precisely what's being stated--if you look at
    the way we've, if you will, managed the Earth-observing
    business in the United States, it has a checkered history.
        Now, take Landsat--it's been all over the place--the only
    place it's not been is the Senate of the United States--it's
    been in the Air Force, it's been in the U.S. Geological Survey,
    it went over to NOAA, back to NASA, back over to NOAA, back to
    NASA--this is observing land surface where people live. This
    should not be tossed around the Federal Government.
        The situation with NPOESS, clearly the lessons will be
    learned for many painful years. So, what we set forth was the
    fact that we felt that the Office of Science and Technology
    Policy has a unique opportunity in the next 2 years, in an
    Administration which, by definition, will not succeed itself.
    As far as I know, the Vice President is not running for
    President. So, you are almost in an apolitical time for OSTP.
    I'm from New Hampshire, we're not in an apolitical time in New
    Hampshire--but it is a different scenorio for OSTP to sit down
    with NASA and NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey, with the
    Congress, and with the community and with the private sector,
    and say, ``What could we advise the incoming government in
    2008, to do about this Earth observing? Let's see if we can't
    get this thing on a more rational footing.'' It is not easy.
        I think the primary problem is that the capabilities of
    agencies do not necessarily line up with their
    responsibilities. I think that is exactly where we have this
    problem with NOAA. Their responsibility was for this next-
    generation weather satellite. But they did not, necessarily
    have internal capabilities to manage something of that
    complexity.
        So, I believe we're going to have to really rethink the way
    in which we do business. It's just not working.
        Senator Nelson. Dr. Freilich, what about the expected gap
    between Landsat 7 and the Landsat Data Continuity Mission? What
    is going to be the scientific impact of that gap?
        Dr. Freilich. I'm not a land scientist myself, in fact, I'm
    an oceanographer, like Otis Brown here.
        However, we have looked, and are continuing to look quite
    carefully at that. Climate time series are things to be
    cherished, it takes 30 years to get a 30-year continuous data
    set. We are investigating with our international partners, what
    other data sources might be available for the relatively short
    amount of time between the potential demise of Landsat 7, and
    the plan for launch and operation of Landsat Data Continuity
    Mission, which will be in 2011.
        There are many, many other countries which are flying, or
    plan to fly, land-observing missions. Not all of them at the
    same level of radiometric accuracy, many of them at the same
    level of spatial resolution, and coverage, as we have. So, we
    are actively dealing in NASA with our international partners,
    to try and assemble, as best as possible, a data set of land
    observations to enable the climate science to continue, and to
    enable this time series, which we've invested so much in as a
    Nation, to continue to be able to serve the climate science, as
    well as other communities.
        Senator Nelson. By the way, if we didn't have enough to
    worry about, the Chinese now have the capability to knock down
    satellites.
        Let me ask Dr. Moore, are the new missions that are
    currently in NASA's pipeline, such as the Landsat Data
    Continuity Mission, Glory, and NPP, are they consistent with
    the Decadal Survey recommendations?
        Dr. Moore. Yes, they are completely consistent.
        And, I think that NASA had the interim report, which was
    released in April of 2005, as a basis to build the 2008 report.
    The interim budget dealt with the existing programs--Landsat
    Data Continuity, Glory, so forth, the ones that you've
    mentioned. And we said, ``We really need to get these on
    track,'' and the 2008 and 2009 budgets do that.
        NASA did not have, in preparation of the 2008 budget, the
    final report of the Decadal Survey, which looked at the out-
    years, beyond the existing programs, which the 2008-2009 really
    address. And as a consequence, if we look at the run-out that,
    after 2009, things go negative again.
        I'm hopeful that Dr. Freilich leadership and with Alan
    Stern coming in, that in the 2009 budget, we will see that run-
    out turn around, because the real recommendations of the
    Decadal Survey deal with these new missions that are the
    absolute--they are the ones that are dead critical, in terms of
    the problems that the Decadal Survey was looking at, whether it
    was earthquakes or climate or severe weather or droughts or
    greenhouse gases. They're the ones that address those issues.
        Senator Nelson. Dr. Brown?
        Dr. Brown. Two answers. One, as Dr. Moore said, the interim
    report jumpstarted the internal processes within NASA, so that
    they can address that particular suite of issues, including
    GPM.
        The outstanding problem, though, that is unaddressed--at
    least from my perspective right now--is the loss of climate
    sensor capability on NPOESS. We don't have an answer to that
    problem, in either agency right now.
        Senator Nelson. Are any of those projects what you would
    consider a lower priority?
        Dr. Brown. No. Actually, in terms of the Decadal Survey,
    no. And as you might imagine, there were a lot of hard
    negotiations that occurred to come up with that list. And there
    was a consensus across the panels on the final list, that these
    really were the -priority missions that needed to be looked at
    in the next decade. So, I'm on board with those, sir.
        Senator Nelson. Well, let me ask to any of you, if the
    Earth Science Program were to proceed along the current path,
    which is the bare-bones NPOESS and only the new missions in the
    NASA pipeline, what are the risks, explain to our Committee, to
    our Nation's coastal areas?
        Dr. Brown. The risks are multi-fold, some would happen
    sooner rather than later, Senator. The longer-term risks are,
    you'll have interruptions of climate quality data records in a
    number of areas, so you're going to lose continuity and have to
    restart climate records that you really don't want to lose,
    which are fundamental to look at long-term changes. For
    example, there are input solar irradiance versus earth
    radiation coming out, and understanding aerosol impacts. Those
    would be areas that could be at risk.
        Similarly you could--as you look at some of the other
    climate-quality instruments on the NPOESS suite, see
    interruptions in the climate part of the record.
        The other part, which is the direct impacts has to do with
    the slips in NPOESS, what is that going to mean to polar
    orbiter, visible and infrared mapping coverage of the globe. We
    don't know that yet, because we don't know what that interval
    might be. But, if there is some interval, with much-reduced
    coverage, that's going to undoubtedly have societal impacts,
    because that's a primary sensor for many different sorts of
    warnings that might be put out.
        An area that I would specifically focus on has to do with,
    as we look at sea level rise globally, and all of the aspects
    that go into observing and forecasting it. It includes such
    esoteric things as trying to map out polar ice extents--and
    thickness, and so on. Which parts of those capabilities that
    will be diminished is going to have an impact, as we try to
    look at sea level rise? It's going to mean errors, the error-
    bounds or our confidence in estimating these will change, for
    example. Thank you.
        Senator Nelson. Ms. Colleton, what do you think? How's this
    going to affect ordinary Americans? Not necessarily on the
    Coast, but if you want to talk about the Coast feel free.
        Ms. Colleton. Well, I think one of the important things
    that we have to consider is if, if there is a question about
    our space capability in the future, we have to look at other
    options. And, we've yet to talk about aircraft and in situ
    measurements, and how important those are. And one of the
    things that, clearly we're beginning to start is the
    implementation of the Integrated Ocean Observing System, and
    all of the regional associations across the country that do
    coastal monitoring, et cetera. There was money in the
    President's Fiscal Year 2008 budget to begin that process, I
    don't think it's enough money, but programs like that will grow
    in importance, if those space capabilities are not available.
    And I think they--and the fact that we need to look at more of
    the integrated information between space, aircraft, and in situ
    information, and develop an integrated Earth Observing System
    that would have all of those capabilities, is very, very
    important.
        Senator Nelson. Just as an aside, one of the aircraft
    capabilities of NOAA is the G-4 that flies at 40,000 feet plus,
    and tracks hurricanes. It's given them a 15 percent greater
    accuracy in prediction of hurricane paths, with the resulting
    additional early warning. That's a single-point failure, we
    don't have a backup aircraft. And I've been trying to beat the
    door down for the last several years about, ``Well, you only
    need it for 6 months of the year, try to figure out when and
    where another agency could use it for the other 6 months. You
    can share it.'' But, I just spoke to the number two guy at
    NOAA, and they're not going to. They don't have any plans to
    come forward and request this. It's just another indication of
    what you said, Ms. Colleton.
        Ms. Colleton. And, again, I think it elevates the
    importance of taking a comprehensive look--not just at our
    space programs, but our U.S. common information infrastructure
    that we're using, the in situ measurements we have, and
    aircraft. And looking to have someone responsible within our
    government to look at the whole picture, and determine if it's
    appropriate or accurate for the challenges that we face.
        Dr. Moore. Senator, could I just elaborate?
        Senator Nelson. Please, please.
        Dr. Moore. The question that you asked--if we didn't go
    ahead with the recommendations of the Decadal Survey, and we
    are living with the highly reduced NPOESS program, what would
    be some of the things that you wouldn't have? Well, we wouldn't
    have good measurements of ice sheets. We know that ice sheets
    are changing. We know the changes in ice sheets lead to changes
    in sea level. So, we would not have that.
        Second, we wouldn't have good measurements of sea level.
    One of the missions that we recommend deals with instruments
    that not only will measure sea level, but will also measure
    lake levels, as well as major rivers. We wouldn't have that
    information.
        In the GOESS program, they have eliminated the Coastal
    Waters Imagery. In the Decadal Survey, we recommended a mission
    that would not only handle coastal waters, but also air
    pollution, the measurement of air pollution.
        So, when you start down the list, I think the coastal
    communities are living right at the tipping point. And the
    recommendations that we've made were looking very much at the
    issue of, what are the applications? Who are the people at
    risk?
        Soil moisture--this is a major issue for coastal areas.
    There will be far less capability on the NPOESS mission than
    was planned. One of the missions that we recommended was to
    directly measure soil moistures.
        So, I think that we've tried to identify priorities by
    looking at these critical populations, and certainly the
    coastal community is amongst the most critical population,
    particularly viewed worldwide.
        Dr. Freilich. I would just like to point out that we
    presently are flying 14 Earth-observing satellites. We've
    talked a bit about sea level, and that is certainly one of the
    triumphs--we have accurate measurements of global sea level
    that started with the TOPEX-Poseidon joint NASA-French Space
    Agency Program. Presently, the Jason-1 altimetry mission is
    flying, and the very first of the new missions that are in the
    budget to launch--and it will launch in 2008--is a yet another
    follow-on--the Ocean Surface Topography Mission. So, we have
    focused on very, very high priorities, and ocean surface
    topography, at least, is one global time series which is going
    to continue at extremely high accuracy, with good overlap
    between sensors.
        Senator Nelson. Ms. Colleton, how do state and local
    government use the data from these satellites?
        Ms. Colleton. They use it in a variety of ways. I think
    probably the best example is in looking at drought, the drought
    monitor that's available, you know we're experiencing a
    terrible drought right now in Texas, and last week alone there
    were terrible dust storms, 35,000 homes and businesses without
    power, as a result.
        But, the satellite data is put into systems, information
    systems, that allow anyone, anywhere to access it. They can do
    this through the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, go to the
    drought monitor and determine what the outlook is, what's
    currently happening, what the outlook might be for a few weeks
    ahead.
        So it's not only with drought. One of the most exciting
    things that we're beginning to see in the area of applications
    is the relationship between environmental information, and
    public health. And again, it's just an emerging thing. But we
    can look, for example, at malaria, and look at parts of the
    world, for example, that may have characteristics that might
    promote the next malaria outbreak. How is that helpful? Because
    it helps NGOs get medicine to certain parts of the world,
    producers to distribute it, et cetera.
        One other area that I think will be very, very important
    with emerging applications of remote sensing, or satellite
    Earth observations is that we--again, we're just beginning to
    look at--is the application of this information to the carbon
    finance market, and how this technology becomes an innovation
    for climate change. We're looking at renewable fuels, we're
    looking at emission reductions, but are we looking at Earth
    observations and how it can be used?
        I mean, for one, for example, just in monitoring, it will
    show us whether or not our policies are working. So, I think
    for state and local government leaders, this information has a
    lot of applications.
        Senator Nelson. Dr. Freilich, why don't you give us some
    commentary on why you think NPOESS has had so many problems?
    What has NASA learned about the structure, so we can apply it
    to future collaborations?
        Dr. Freilich. An excellent question, Senator.
        NPOESS is a step forward from the Earth Observing System
    that NASA was flying and from the operational weather
    satellites that NOAA and the Department of Defense separately
    had been flying, and are flying right now.
        In some instances, the instruments that were anticipated to
    fly, or that were chosen to fly on NPOESS were quite mature,
    and we had built them, NASA had often demonstrated their
    capabilities, and their utility, and they transitioned well.
        For instance, on the NPOESS Preparatory Project, one of the
    instruments, the so-called ATMS, Advanced Technology Microwave
    Sounder instrument, is in good shape. The technology is moving
    along, it was mature, it is, in fact, already integrated onto
    the spacecraft.
        In some other areas, I think that corporately, we were
    reaching rather far. We were attempting to get to the next
    generation of instruments to fly on an operational spacecraft,
    when perhaps we had not fully examined the technology, and the
    implementation issues associated with them in the context of
    research missions. Historically, NASA did the research
    missions, as you heard previously from my colleagues. Many of
    our research satellites, virtually all of them, provide data in
    near-real-time. And, those measurements originally flown for
    research purposes, when they demonstrate their utility, are
    then used routinely in operational numerical weather
    forecasting, marine hazard warning, et cetera.
        So, that was the process that we had, and I think that we
    jumped a little bit, perhaps, in our eagerness to get a truly
    outstanding operational constellation of instruments. And in my
    personal opinion, that is not quite the way we had shown it in
    the past, and the way in which we had experience.
        Senator Nelson. Do you think it can meet its revised cost
    schedule and technical goals?
        Dr. Freilich. NASA is a partner in the NPOESS program as a
    technology provider. In the short time I've been here, I've not
    had the time to study the details of where we are in NPOESS as
    a whole. I think that the Nunn-McCurdy recertification focuses
    NPOESS on its weather forecasting capabilities, and based on
    the analyses that went into that, we will be able to achieve
    those capabilities, that performance.
        As far as climate goes, I think that the Nunn-McCurdy re-
    certification is fairly honest, and it says that, given the
    resources that are available, we should not be focusing on
    climate measurements, and therefore, we as a country have to
    look at how to mitigate the removal of those measurements. It's
    not that we shouldn't focus on climate, but this program can't
    afford to focus on climate. We should look to see how to
    mitigate the impact of removing those sensors, but get the
    measurements flown in different ways. And, we're actively
    working with NOAA and other portions of the government through
    OSTP, in particular to try to come up with mitigation
    strategies. That will feed into our integrated road map that I
    talked about previously.
        Because, the science and the societal impact that were
    identified in the Decadal Survey really requires a background
    context, if you will, of measurements that we had thought were
    going to be obtained from NPOESS, and if they're not obtained
    from NPOESS, we still have to make those measurements in order
    to advance our Earth-system science.
        Senator Nelson. Are there particular problems that you
    think we ought to be on the lookout for?
        Dr. Freilich. Sorry, I don't quite understand the question,
    whether it's----
        Senator Nelson. In the revised cost schedule and technical
    goals? Do you think we can meet them all, or are there going to
    be some problems that we ought to be looking for?
        Dr. Freilich. Every space mission that I've been associated
    with and that I've known about, has had challenges associated
    with it. There are clearly two instruments on the NPOESS
    preparatory project--the VIIRS instrument and the CRIS
    instrument, which at the moment, represent, quite significant
    technological challenges. They are not NASA-provided
    instruments, I might point out, but they're critical
    instruments for the science that has been identified, and for
    the societal impact that we would like to extract from this
    national investment.
        Senator Nelson. Do you think the NPP will fill the gap
    between EOS and NPOESS?
        Dr. Freilich. NPP, as well as international partner
    contributions, in particular, EUMETSAT and the MetOp series of
    spacecraft, and the instruments and spacecraft that we have in
    the Fiscal Year 2008 budget will bridge the gap. Those seven
    missions that I talked about that will launch out between 2008
    and 2013 which, by the way, not only includes the Ocean Surface
    Topography Mission, but also the orbiting carbon observatory
    that Ms. Colleton talked about, which is also going to launch
    in 2008. Those missions--and the ones that we're flying now--
    will certainly not only continue, but expand the range of
    variables that we're presently measuring, and then the question
    just becomes a programmatic one, of when the follow-ons take
    place. Now that we have the clear guidance from the Decadal
    Survey, we can begin to build those integrated programs.
        Senator Nelson. Dr. Moore, you want to talk to us about
    projects that were dropped from NPOESS, and tell us what you
    think about the status of them, then Dr. Freilich, why don't
    you comment on that and to what degree you think you're going
    to be able to get them in the budget?
        Dr. Moore. Well, there are several. I'll begin with the
    less expensive ones. Perhaps they could come back into the
    budget via NOAA. And these are very important for climate.
        The total solar irradiance monitor--this monitors the solar
    output--was dropped. And, the instrument to measure the energy
    coming off of the planet was dropped. Now, if you're going to
    do climate work, the concern about climate is the change in the
    energy balance, because of the greenhouse gases. You've got to
    have the total solar irradiance, and you've got to have the
    energy coming off the planet--those are of the first order. The
    Decadal Survey recommended those back to NOAA because we felt
    that--not only were they important, but they were not budget
    breakers. In fact, I think it would probably be in the noise of
    the uncertainty about the NPOESS budget. So, that would be a
    very clear recommendation.
        The other was the altitude distribution of ozone in the
    atmosphere. That was eliminated--they were going to continue to
    measure the total amount of ozone in the column of air, but not
    see in detail, the altitude. We really need to understand that.
    So those are three things that we felt could be put back on the
    NOAA side.
        On the other aspects, it appears that there will probably
    be far less capability of measuring soil moisture. And
    therefore, one of the early recommendations to NASA was a soil
    moisture mission. Now, this is a good example of where I think
    a NASA mission does not fulfill the NOAA and Air Force
    responsibility. This would be a scientific mission, but there
    will have to be the capability of taking the data from this
    scientific mission and incorporating that into the operational
    side of NOAA and the Air Force.
        What worries me, is that in the reduction of the budget for
    NPOESS, there will be a loss of that capability to utilize that
    data for operational purposes. So, we're recommending a wide
    swath altimeter, to look at ocean altimetry, sea level height,
    as well as rivers and lakes. The altimeter was lost from the
    NPOESS mission. This is a recommendation to NASA, but once
    again--will there be the capability of utilizing this data?
        Finally, the NPOESS mission was advertised, and still is
    advertised, as not only a weather mission, but a climate
    mission--the instruments are said to have climate capability,
    that means that they're very stable, they make a very precise
    and accurate measurement.
        Well, the NPOESS program has something they call ``weather
    centrals.'' These are the places that the data is processed for
    weather prediction purposes. Where's the climate central? In
    order to produce climate data records, as Mike Freilich said
    very well, to produce these long time series, they require data
    that is often reprocessed three, four, five times. The reason
    for that is, instruments age--(just as we age)--and performance
    changes. So, as the instrument changes, the algorithms that
    process the data need to be changed. The algorithms need, for
    climate signals, to be the very best we can get--not the
    fastest. For weather purposes, speed is everything. So, where's
    the climate central? Despite our very clear recommendation in
    the interim report, and again in the final report, we've never
    had NOAA respond to that. Yet, if you're going to have a
    climate mission, you need to produce climate data.
        So, first of all, I think there are serious issues with
    respect to the instruments. Second, we've tried to make a
    recommendation to NOAA on these energy balance issues--some of
    the measurements that we've recommended to NASA are high-
    priority measurements, third, there will still be the cost of
    ingesting this data, and finally there's the issue of the
    climate central.
        Senator Nelson. What do you think, Dr. Freilich?
        Dr. Freilich. OK, let me go down the list that Dr. Moore
    presented.
        We've already talked about ocean surface topography and
    altimetry, the OSTM mission will be launching in 2008. Dr.
    Moore mentioned the radiation balance, and in particular, the
    total solar irradiance. The Glory mission, which we'll launch
    at the end of calendar year 2008, is in the final stages of
    implementation now. It has two instruments on it. One of them
    is an aerosol polarimetry sensor, but the other is a total
    solar irradiance sensor. So, that mission is funded, will be
    launching at the end of 2008, or the very beginning of 2009--
    and that will continue that extremely important time series.
    Which, by the way, requires absolute overlap of the
    measurements. We, unfortunately are not in a position where we
    can build total solar irradiance instruments which have
    sufficiently good absolute accuracy to tolerate a gap. But, we
    have a TSI, a Total Solar Irradiance instrument, which will
    launch on the Glory mission, and that one is good.
        As far as the Earth Radiation budget instrumentation, the
    CLARREO mission, as Dr. Moore pointed out, is a joint set of
    measurements between NASA and NOAA. It is one of the
    potentially lower cost missions, we're looking at it carefully,
    and certainly one of the high-priority science ones, and we'll
    be looking very carefully--it's one of the four earliest
    missions that the Decadal Survey recommended, and we'll be
    looking very carefully and be guided by the Decadal Survey, as
    I've said many times, in putting together our integrated plan.
    So, it's going to be quite high up, in our focus early on.
        Senator Nelson. And what year do you think that will come
    in?
        Dr. Freilich. I can't say right now, because we have to put
    the plan together, and it has to account--as I said before--for
    all of the measurements that are required to advance the
    science. We need to be able to balance the resources that are
    available with all of the measurements that we need, including
    the new measurements for the Decadal Survey science, such as
    soil moisture, and the context measurements that would have
    been provided by NPOESS, had it gone as expected. So, as in so
    many other things that we do--and as is emphasized so strongly
    in the Decadal Survey, where they talk about balance between
    disciplines, and balance between research and flight projects,
    and balance between airborne and in situ measurements--we have
    to deal with balance for the Nation, certainly, for NASA, and
    inside the Earth Science Division. But that's the whole point
    of our integrated roadmap, which we are embarked on right now,
    given the clear objectives that have been set out by the
    Decadal Survey.
        I might also point out, sir, if I can, that the Fiscal Year
    2008 President's budget requests funding for a mission--a
    competitively selected, unspecified Earth Systems Science
    Pathfinder mission--that is a medium-sized mission and will
    launch in approximately 2014. As part of our integrated
    roadmap, we are taking that line into account. So, I think
    that, an answer to your question is that, when we put the
    integrated roadmap together, there is money in the President's
    budget for a medium-sized mission to launch in 2014, and the
    question is, precisely what scientific focus should it have?
        Senator Nelson. Would it consider the other two that were
    left off, for the measurement of the soil moisture and for the
    altitude distribution of ozone?
        Dr. Freilich. Let me deal with them separately. The
    altitude distribution of ozone is a relatively small and
    relatively mature technology that we have. In fact, the total
    ozone and the atmospheric profile were supposed to be two
    instruments originally, but that were closely linked to each
    other, and we will look very, very carefully at getting that
    one flown rapidly.
        That is not in the same class of investment technology, or
    anything else that we're talking about for the other ones.
        In terms of soil moisture, there are a number of
    possibilities that were laid out in the Decadal Survey and they
    dovetail, actually, fairly well in some cases with the Global
    Precipitation Measurement Mission. And we're looking carefully,
    as I keep saying, at an integrated approach to make the best
    use of the resources that we have--so that if we can, in fact,
    overlap some of these and kill multiple birds with fewer
    stones, we're looking very, very, carefully at doing that.
        NASA's contributions to the Global Precipitation Mission
    has two parts to it. The first is a core spacecraft, joint with
    our Japanese Space Agency partners, that will have a couple of
    different instruments on it--an active precipitation radar, and
    a passive radiometer. That will launch in 2013. In 2014,
    however, this budget line includes the so-called GPM
    Constellation spacecraft, which we need in order to get the
    good, accurate global precipitation measurements, that GPM as a
    unit, is intended to provide.
        However, the radiometer that is on that spacecraft may,
    perhaps, be able to be adapted, enhanced, whatever--I don't
    want to do design in front of the Senate, in fact, I'm not even
    capable of doing design in my office, being an oceanographer.
    However, those are the sorts of questions that we're asking
    ourselves, as we put together the integrated roadmap--how best
    to get the measurements that we need that advance the science
    with the resources that we have available.
        Senator Nelson. And what about the idea of weather centrals
    becoming climate centrals, as Ms. Colleton mentioned?
        Dr. Freilich. I'm not sure that I heard that weather
    centrals should become climate centrals, what I heard Ms.
    Colleton and Dr. Moore say, was that capability, that function,
    must be recognized as scientifically and societally very
    important. NASA, in general, does not do that sort of work,
    because that's an operational kind of capability. However, we
    really, really need it in order to advance both the science and
    the societal impact.
        Senator Nelson. Ms. Colleton, do you want to expand on
    that?
        Ms. Colleton. I think that Dr. Moore said it appropriately.
        Senator Nelson. Turn on your mike.
        Ms. Colleton. Sorry--I'll learn by the time this hearing is
    over, to turn on my microphone, I apologize.
        But, I think Dr. Moore said it accurately--the way that the
    NPOESS program is structured right now, there is this focus on
    weather centrals, that rely and push for speed in delivery,
    where the climate centrals aren't being considered at this
    point, and those require more sensitive types of
    instrumentation, and processing.
        Is that correct, Dr. Moore?
        Dr. Moore. I think that, the weather centrals have their
    job, and it's best to let them focus on that job. A climate
    central needs a different oversight, a different scientific
    oversight, it requires advanced computing--as does the
    weather--but perhaps it should be structured differently, and
    separated from the task of the weather centrals.
        Our concern is that, right now, it's not in the budget, it
    doesn't appear to be in the planning, speaking to NOAA, and I
    do not see any way to simply try to piggy-back it on something
    else. I think it's a very serious enterprise, and it's not
    being addressed.
        The other comment I wanted to make was when I addressed the
    issue on the solar monitoring and so forth--I was taking into
    consideration that NASA on the Glory mission gets us to about
    2013 with this solar monitoring. But then it stops, because
    it's deleted from the NPOESS mission. So, our recommendation is
    that, it's not expensive, it is highly important, as Mike said,
    you've got to have it overlap with whatever is on-orbit at that
    time, making that measurement, because you need to get a
    consistent time series. And therefore, it was natural to put it
    on, put it back on the first NPOESS spacecraft.
        But, it requires resources. And what I'm afraid of is, the
    NPOESS situation is not in closure yet, and we may see
    additional pressure on the program, and therefore there will
    not be the ability to respond to these very real needs that
    we're going to have. And I just don't see how they're going to
    be met, unless things change.
        Dr. Brown. Senator, a final comment from me on that. Let's,
    and, go back to the earlier discussion that we had on the
    Decadal Survey committee. And that was that, you know, should
    you restructure the Federal Government to deal with these
    challenges of the NPOESS program?
        What you see, though, is when restructuring had to happen
    because of Nunn-McCurdy, there was no climate sponsor to step
    up and say, ``That's my responsibility I want to preserve that.
    Here's a budget to do that.'' That, I think, is a fundamental
    issue as we move into this new suite of satellites. Who is
    going to be the climate sponsor for Earth Observing Systems? I
    don't know what the answer is. I'm not going to presume that,
    but I do think that is the question.
        Senator Nelson. Any further comments from any of you all?
    Yes, ma'am?
        Ms. Colleton. If I could, we've spent a lot of time talking
    about NPOESS this afternoon. But I think, again, we have to
    consider, NPOESS is supposed to go through 2024, and are we
    considering what follows? Or, are some of these missions that
    are getting set back longer and longer times. Again, I would
    call--I would hope that you would call--for a long-term
    strategy for Earth observations. We do not have one. We do not
    have a national strategy, we need to address these climate
    questions, it's imperative, and I would hope that you would
    call for such an action.
        Senator Nelson. Dr. Moore, you were about to say something?
        Dr. Moore. Yes, one final comment--I recognize that when we
    put forth 17 missions, and say we need to get back to the year
    2000, that's a major step. We could have classed those
    missions, grouped them into three large spacecraft, and said
    we're only recommending three missions. We thought we were
    recommending a more robust strategy by breaking it up.
        So, let's think about how we might exploit that robust
    strategy. Mike Freilich has spoken, I think, very positively,
    we all appreciate it in the community--about the Decadal
    Survey. Let's see if we can't find a way to actually embrace
    it, beyond these road-mapping exercises. And so, what I would
    like to suggest is, we've recommended 17 missions to NASA.
    Let's look at the first six or seven of them. Let's start with
    them. Say, $10 million a year for seven missions to do the kind
    of detailed cost analysis, do the kind of detailed high
    technological risk parts, the so-called ``tall poles''--let's
    start working those right now.
        So, $70 million to take on the first seven--what would
    happen? Well, first of all, we would all join forces in the
    community because we would see a positive response. The
    country, I think, would begin to feel positively too, that
    we've got this thing back on track. Industry would look at this
    and say, ``Well, Earth Science is a place that we need to put
    our industrial money.'' I know the industry, quite often will
    say, ``Well, if NASA's going to invest ``X'' number of dollars,
    we need to invest that, because we're competing against our
    peers out here.'' So, when you're in a hole, the first thing
    you do is stop digging. Instead we would start to dig steps out
    of the hole. So, by making that kind of investment--$70 million
    is a lot of money, but in other ways, it's not a lot of money.
        Senator Nelson. Anything from you all for the record?
        Dr. Freilich. Thank you very much.
        Senator Nelson. Well, thank you for your time. I did not
    introduce you all, we just started right in on our
    conversation. Dr. Freilich is the Director of the Earth
    Sciences Division of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA,
    Dr. Moore is Director of the Institute for Study of Earth,
    Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire, Dr. Brown
    is the Dean of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric
    Science at the University of Miami, and Ms. Colleton is the
    President of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies,
    and is the Executive Director for the Alliance for Earth
    Observations. So, you all have added mightily to our knowledge,
    and our attempts to try to get this right. So, thank you very
    much.
        The meeting is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 4 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]