[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 21730-21731]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     IN PRAISE OF ORLANDO FIGUEROA

  Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, I rise once again to recognize the 
service of one of America's great Federal employees.
  Last week I spoke about an outstanding public servant who refused to 
give up when she was faced with life-changing trauma. My friend Vice 
President Biden says America's greatest attribute is that when it gets 
knocked down, it gets right back up.
  Perseverance is one of our national strengths. It has seen us through 
the lean years and the times of war. It has also seen us through the 
setbacks of our march of science and discovery. In one such setback a 
few years ago, NASA experienced a string of failures to land an 
exploratory probe on Mars. After the inspirational voyages of Viking 1 
and 2, which landed on the red planet of the 1970s, NASA did not send 
spacecraft to the surface of Mars for 20 years. After a brief but 
successful return in 1997 by the Mars Pathfinder, NASA prepared a 
series of missions aimed at exploring the Martian surface and laying 
the groundwork for a future astronaut mission.
  The enthusiasm at NASA and in our Nation's scientific community 
quickly turned to disappointment as two consecutive missions failed to 
reach their destination. Some of my colleagues may remember how 
frustrating it was to learn that one craft burned up in Mars' 
atmosphere because a contractor measured in English units instead of 
the metric system used by NASA.
  When Orlando Figueroa took charge of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover 
project in 2001, he set out to change the mood. Optimism and excitement 
had long been the driving force behind NASA's successes, and Orlando 
knew that despite recent setbacks, NASA could once again achieve and 
inspire.
  Less than 3 years later, under Orlando's leadership, NASA's Mars 
Exploration Rover project successfully landed some of the most advanced 
technology ever created onto the Martian surface.
  He pushed his team to look forward, not backward, and Orlando's 
leadership was critical as the team faced challenges in advance of a 
rapidly approaching launch date.
  The Mars Exploration Rovers--called Spirit and Opportunity--
successfully landed on opposite ends of Mars in January 2004 after a 6-
month journey.
  Together, they traversed several miles of the planet's surface and 
captured over 100,000 high resolution photographs for use by scientists 
studying the Martian climate and soil.

[[Page 21731]]

  The tests conducted by Spirit and Opportunity have brought our 
researchers closer to finding evidence of water and possibly past life 
on our neighboring planet.
  The Mars Exploration Rover project also reignited the imaginations of 
countless students.
  I have spoken a number of times already about the importance of 
supporting education in the fields of science, technology, engineering, 
and mathematics or ``STEM.'' The success of Orlando and his team at 
NASA contributes greatly to our efforts to renew interest in space 
exploration and scientific discovery among our Nation's youth. It was 
this same enthusiasm that first led us to orbit the Earth and reach the 
Moon.
  Orlando exemplifies the kind of perseverance endemic to America's 
civil servants.
  He and his team demonstrated once again that our Nation, when we get 
knocked down, can get back up and accomplish any task we set for 
ourselves.
  It was for this reason that Orlando was awarded the Service to 
America--Federal Employee of the Year medal in 2005.
  I hope that all the members of this body will join me in recognizing 
the important contribution made by Orlando Figueroa and all of the 
hard-working employees of NASA.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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