[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 10, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H3065-H3068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CHARLES ``PETE'' CONRAD ASTRONOMY AWARDS ACT

  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 1023) to authorize the Administrator of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration to establish an awards program in 
honor of Charles ``Pete'' Conrad, astronaut and space scientist, for 
recognizing the discoveries made by amateur astronomers of asteroids 
with near-Earth orbit trajectories.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1023

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Charles `Pete' Conrad 
     Astronomy Awards Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       For the purposes of this Act--
       (1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
     the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
       (2) the term ``amateur astronomer'' means an individual 
     whose employer does not provide any funding, payment, or 
     compensation to the individual for the observation of 
     asteroids and other celestial bodies, and does not include 
     any individual employed as a professional astronomer;
       (3) the term ``Minor Planet Center'' means the Minor Planet 
     Center of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory;
       (4) the term ``near-Earth asteroid'' means an asteroid with 
     a perihelion distance of less than 1.3 Astronomical Units 
     from the Sun; and
       (5) the term ``Program'' means the Charles ``Pete'' Conrad 
     Astronomy Awards Program established under section 3.

     SEC. 3. PETE CONRAD ASTRONOMY AWARD PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--The Administrator shall establish the 
     Charles ``Pete'' Conrad Astronomy Awards Program.
       (b) Awards.--The Administrator shall make awards under the 
     Program based on the recommendations of the Minor Planet 
     Center.
       (c) Award Categories.--The Administrator shall make one 
     annual award, unless there are no eligible discoveries or 
     contributions, for each of the following categories:
       (1) The amateur astronomer or group of amateur astronomers 
     who in the preceding calendar year discovered the 
     intrinsically brightest near-Earth asteroid among the near-
     Earth asteroids that were discovered during that year by 
     amateur astronomers or groups of amateur astronomers.
       (2) The amateur astronomer or group of amateur astronomers 
     who made the greatest contribution to the Minor Planet 
     Center's mission of cataloguing near-Earth asteroids during 
     the preceding year.
       (d) Award Amount.--An award under the Program shall be in 
     the amount of $3,000.
       (e) Guidelines.--(1) No individual who is not a citizen or 
     permanent resident of the United States at the time of his 
     discovery or contribution may receive an award under this 
     Act.
       (2) The decisions of the Administrator in making awards 
     under this Act are final.
       (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--From sums otherwise 
     authorized to be appropriated, there are authorized to be 
     appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 
     Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Rohrabacher) and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. 
Udall) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within

[[Page H3066]]

which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous 
material on H.R. 1023, the bill now under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, during my recent tenure as chairman of the Subcommittee 
on Space and Aeronautics of the Committee on Science, one of my top 
priorities was to mitigate the threat posed by near-Earth objects. The 
hearings of our subcommittee have revealed that monitoring and tracking 
near-Earth objects, that is, NEOs, such as comets and asteroids, not 
only advance astronomy but are critical to identifying the near-Earth 
objects that may threaten the Earth.
  Mr. Speaker, just as recently as last December, an asteroid 350 yards 
in diameter, named 2004 MN4, was discovered to have an orbit that will 
take it less than one-tenth of the distance from here to the moon. That 
is right in the region of where our artificial satellites are, and that 
will happen in the year 2029.
  According to NASA JPL and the Minor Planet Center at the Smithsonian 
Astrophysical Observatory, several additional close encounters are 
possible in the next decade or two, and thus, we have one coming very 
close soon. And we have some that are predicted shortly thereafter. The 
hazard associated with such an asteroid hitting this planet is fairly 
well known. It could flatten an area the size of Texas or perhaps 
Colorado, I would say to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Udall), or 
Tennessee or any of the other States and cause significant tsunami 
damage to coast lines throughout the world.
  We cannot assess the risk or likelihood of such an event unless we 
know what is out there. Accounts of asteroids passing close to the 
earth have raised public awareness of the possibility that one day one 
of these objects could hit the earth with potential catastrophic 
consequences. Given the vast number of asteroids and comets that 
inhabit the Earth's neighborhood, greater efforts for tracking and 
monitoring these objects is critical.
  This is why I authored H.R. 1023, the Charles ``Pete'' Conrad 
Astronomy Awards Act. This bill is strongly supported by NASA, the 
Smithsonian Institute and our colleagues across the aisle. This is 
truly a bipartisan effort. I thank them all. H.R. 1023 authorizes the 
NASA administrator to give one award each year to the amateur 
astronomer or group of amateur astronomers who discover the 
intrinsically brightest near-Earth asteroid among the near-Earth 
asteroids discovered in that preceding year by amateur astronomers. 
Another award will go to the amateur astronomer or group of amateur 
astronomers who made the greatest contribution during the preceding 
year to the Minor Planet Center's catalog of known asteroids. The 
recipients of the awards will receive $3,000, and it is limited to U.S. 
citizens or permanent residents.
  This bill is a tribute to Pete Conrad for his tremendous 
contributions to our country, to the world and to the aerospace 
community over four decades. Pete Conrad was a pilot, an explorer, an 
entrepreneur of the highest caliber. He was a friend of mine who lived 
in Huntington Beach. He commanded Apollo XII, and during that mission, 
he became the third man to walk on the moon. He saw space as a place to 
get to and to explore and to do business. Space exploration and 
commercialization is what he was all about. It was his job to explore 
the moon and to get to know the heavens better. He then worked to 
develop a new spacecraft and a new space transportation system. That is 
when I got to know him the best, a few years ago.
  An interesting aside, the analysis of an orbiting object identified 
by an amateur astronomer, and that is just recently, suggests that 
instead of a near-Earth object being an asteroid, what was identified 
were the remains of the Saturn V rocket, third stage, which most likely 
came from Pete Conrad's Apollo mission.
  So I find no better way to honor Pete Conrad, who died just a few 
years ago tragically in a motorcycle accident, than to establish this 
annual astronomy award for future asteroid discoveries in his name. He 
always wanted people to be looking up. He always wanted people to be 
positive. He was a can-do American with a very positive spirit, 
American spirit. He, in fact, exemplified the American spirit more than 
any person I have ever met. He was often remembered of course not only 
for his walk on the moon but his historic description of the moon 
landing and also, I might add, his historic description of the take off 
of his rocket, which was, ``whoopee''. Well, that was the Pete Conrad 
we knew. And he was excited about life and excited about technology as 
expanding the horizons of our people and the safety of this planet.
  Films like Armageddon and Deep Impact of a few years ago excited 
large audiences, but it is vital for all of us to realize that this is 
not just the movies we are talking about. This is not science fiction. 
We all know that Earth's moons and other planetary objects are covered 
with impact craters. Most people have heard of the dinosaur extinction 
theory or perhaps seen a picture of this meteor and crater in Arizona 
suggesting that the craters on the moon and these other places could 
well have had serious impact on the Earth and may well have that impact 
in the future. However remote the possibility of a near-Earth object 
striking the Earth and causing a worldwide calamity, no matter how 
obscure or how remote that is, there is a calculable threat, and we 
should know what that threat is.
  And while the asteroid that is believed to have killed the dinosaurs 
is estimated to have occurred many many years ago and will only occur 
once every 100 years, smaller, yet still hazardous asteroids could 
impact Earth much more frequently. For example, the destructive force 
of an asteroid that struck Siberia in 1908 was roughly equal to a 10-
mega-ton blast of TNT.
  Ironically, if we look at asteroids from the perspective of our 
national goals in space, they offer us not just a threat that we are 
looking at but also a unique opportunity. This is one reason that we 
should be tracking these asteroids, because in terms of pure science, 
asteroids are good geological time capsules from the era when our solar 
system was formed. Even better, they are orbiting mines for metal, for 
materials and other resources that can be possibly used to build large 
structures in space without having to carry up the materials to build 
those structures from the Earth. So far, NASA has surveyed 650 
asteroids. But this is a fraction of the projected total population of 
asteroids and near-Earth objects. What needs to be done now is to fully 
understand near-Earth objects and the potential threat and, yes, the 
potential use that they could pose for the world.
  In closing, asteroids deserve a lot more attention from the 
scientific community and from the American people. The first step to 
tracking them and tracking sizable near-Earth objects is H.R. 1023, and 
it is a modest step. But what we are doing is mobilizing the amateurs 
and the young people and the private sector, if you will, and students 
throughout the country to look up and enlisting them in this effort. 
Nothing could be better for encouraging young people to get involved in 
the space program, to have them involved in trying to win this award 
and looking out into the heavens and identifying what they see. I would 
suggest that this small award will have an enormous impact on the 
number of young people that are involved in astrology and thus involved 
in America's space program.

                              {time}  1430

  I would urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 1023 which will encourage 
young people, in particular, as I say, to look up; and let us all as we 
pass this bill remember Pete Conrad and the great space entrepreneurs 
and the great space explorers that are leading the way for the next 
generations of Americans which will go a long way towards filling and 
fulfilling the legacy left by Pete Conrad.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume. I rise today with my good friend, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Rohrabacher), to speak in favor

[[Page H3067]]

of H.R. 1023, the Charles ``Pete'' Conrad Astronomy Awards Act.
  This bill is a thoughtful measure that establishes an awards program 
to encourage efforts by amateur astronomers to detect and catalog near-
Earth asteroids.
  As the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) pointed out, near-
Earth asteroids are of interest for a number of reasons. 
Scientifically, they provide a window into the earliest days of the 
solar system. Some of the near-Earth asteroids are also thought to 
contain valuable minerals and ores that could be mined by future 
generations. Finally, there is a growing consensus that near-Earth 
asteroids have impacted the Earth at various times in its history, 
resulting in widespread extinction of animals and plants. For that 
reason alone, I think it makes very good sense to learn more about 
these objects.
  NASA, of course, has been conducting research on asteroids and comets 
for a long time. I agree with the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Rohrabacher) that the amateur astronomy community offers an important 
additional source of observations. Moreover, as one who is very 
interested in promoting science education and outreach, I believe that 
H.R. 1023 offers a constructive, low-cost way of stimulating public 
interest in astronomy.
  I want to congratulate the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Rohrabacher) on his initiative. I think it is a sensible measure. I 
urge my colleagues to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 1023.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let me note that there are a lot of people who poo-pooed 
this idea of near-Earth objects and said, you are just trying to scare 
people, or whatever. And after the movie ``Deep Impact'' and such, that 
maybe this is some sort of scare tactic or you are trying to get 
attention by talking about something, a threat that is so minuscule 
that why should we worry about it.
  Well, several years ago, I chaired a hearing into the near-Earth 
object issue, and one of the witnesses who was poo-pooing this idea and 
downplaying the risk suggested that the chances of me dying from this 
near-Earth object striking the Earth were the same chances that I would 
have of going to Las Vegas and having a royal straight flush. And it 
was a shocking thing for him to tell me that because, Mr. Speaker, I 
did go to Las Vegas once and had a royal straight flush and it was 
amazing.
  I said that happened to me, and the fact is that, yes, it is unlikely 
that people will get royal straight flushes and it is unlikely that we 
will have near-Earth objects destroying all of humankind, but we should 
nevertheless be prepared if there is a possible way to avert a 
catastrophe by having knowledge of a near-Earth object heading in our 
direction.
  Also, as the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Udall) described, if near-
Earth objects are coming close to the Earth, they pose a great 
opportunity for us as well as create a threat if they were headed 
towards us. We should be prepared, number one, to try to alter the 
course if it is a dangerous course towards the Earth of a near-Earth 
object; but we should also be prepared to take advantage of the 
potential if there is a near-Earth object coming near the Earth to 
utilize it for a number of things like mining or studying the nature of 
the universe.
  With this said, I cannot think of a better tribute to Pete Conrad who 
fought in World War II and who protected our country but also moved on 
and made great contributions to his country through the space program 
than to have this, as a civilian, I might add, in a civilian 
entrepreneur mentality that Pete exemplified. All of these are 
encompassed in this bill: safety and prosperity and accomplishment.
  With that said, I ask my colleagues to join me in voting for this 
Pete Conrad bill, H.R. 1023.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I will be brief. I just want to second what the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Rohrabacher) has outlined here, that the Earth has been 
hit over geologic times by a number of asteroids and bodies outside the 
orbit of the Earth. And it would be a smart thing for us to do to 
better understand the potential impacts and effects.
  Secondly, I just wanted to lend my voice to those of us here who 
admired Pete Conrad and think this is a very suitable way to keep his 
legacy alive and to inspire, particularly young people, as we have 
discussed here today, to go into this exciting world of astronomy and 
space exploration. Pete Conrad is a shining example of that.
  It is with pride and excitement that I want to acknowledge the 
efforts of the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher). I urge all 
the Members to vote for this important piece of legislation.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise as a strong supporter 
of H.R. 1023, a bill that authorizes the Administrator of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration to establish an awards program in 
honor of Charles `Pete' Conrad, who was an astronaut and space 
scientist, for recognizing the discoveries made by amateur astronomers 
of asteroids with near-Earth orbit trajectories. Let me thank my 
colleague on the Science committee, Mr. Rohrabacher for introducing 
this resolution and seeing it through for final passage. This 
resolution honors the scientific contributions of the past, while also 
recognizing the scientific discoveries of the future.
  Known for his sense of humor and infectious grin, Charles P. Conrad, 
as commander of the Apollo 12 mission, was the third person to walk on 
the moon. Not a tall man, Conrad stepped down onto the lunar surface in 
November of 1969 and cheerfully commented, ``Whoopie! Man, that may 
have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me.'' Born 
June 2nd, 1930 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he graduated from 
Princeton University in 1953 and went on to become a Navy test pilot. 
Selected as a NASA astronaut in 1962, Conrad in 1965 went on his first 
space flight--the endurance record setting Gemini 5 mission. His final 
space flight was to Skylab in 1973.
  Unfortunately, Conrad died from injuries in a motorcycle accident on 
Thursday, July 8, 1999. Today, we have a chance to ensure that his 
legacy lives on. In addition, we have the opportunity to recognize the 
discoveries made by amateur astronomers of asteroids with near-Earth 
orbit trajectories. This is indeed a worthwhile resolution because it 
allows us to celebrate a great man of science and recognize the amateur 
astronomer of today. So, I urge my colleagues to support this 
meaningful legislation.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague, Congressman Dana 
Rohrabacher, introducing this important legislation honoring our late 
California constituent, Charles ``Pete'' Conrad, for his remarkable 
achievements in spaceflight as well as his contribution to the U.S. 
aerospace industry. Pete was a great American and this is a tribute to 
his contributions to space and to science.
  Pete Conrad was an individual who was always pushing the envelope 
with an exuberance that matched his animated personality and sense of 
humor. Pete's first flights were in the Gemini program, where he 
established both the record for endurance and for altitude in space. 
Then, as the commander of Apollo XII, he became the third man to walk 
on the Moon--to which he exclaimed in his typical enthusiastic manner, 
``Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but it's a 
long one for me.'' His final National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration mission was a commander of Skylab II, the first United 
States space station.
  Once he left the Astronaut Corps, Pete delved into what was then the 
nascent aerospace industry. He worked to sell the industry to the 
American people and to excite them on the possibilities of the return 
to and the colonization of the Moon, the development of single-stage-
to-orbit vehicles, and in the exploration of the solar system. During 
this time, Pete stayed with his love of anything that would go fast--
airplanes, helicopters, cars and motorcycles. He raced helicopters 
across the country; he raced airplanes in air shows; and he raced 
motorcycles in local races. Tragically, he died from injuries resulting 
from a motorcycle accident in 1999 and at the age of 69 in Ojai, CA.
  This bill, which honors Pete Conrad and is a tribute to his wife 
Nancy, encourages young people to get involved in astronomy by offering 
prizes to amateurs for their contributions to

[[Page H3068]]

astronomy by either discovering the brightest near-Earth object or by 
the cataloging of near Earth objects. What better way to get our 
children interested in science and in paying tribute to this great 
American.
  Mrs. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kolbe). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1023.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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