Why Did the House Science Committee Overlook NASA's Former Chief Scientist?
Ellen Stofan was the only woman to testify at a congressional hearing about the future of space exploration—and the only person left out of the official tweets about the event.
Last week, the House Science, Space and Technology committee invited four witnesses from NASA’s past to discuss the agency’s future endeavors, including a human mission to Mars, a possible return to the moon, and the commercial space sector. NASA consistently polls as Americans’ favorite federal agency, and its popularity cuts across party lines. The hearing could have been a brief respite from the bickering that has seized Washington of late. And it almost was.
Near the end, Ellen Stofan, NASA’s chief science officer under President Barack Obama, gave some reason for hope. Americans can expect a lunar habitat by the 2020s and humans in Mars orbit in 2032, she
