Science Committee Chairman Says Bolden's Assertions About The Mission Are 'Factually Incorrect'

In a speech to the National Academy of Sciences, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said that the Mars Flyby 2021 mission is not germane to the goal of landing astronauts on Mars. In a statement, House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) blasted the NASA Administrator for taking that position.

“In comments before the National Academies, Administrator Bolden today misrepresented a Mars Flyby 2021 mission," Smith (pictured) said in the statement. "The Administrator indicated that a Mars Flyby is not a worthy stepping stone to an eventual Mars landing because it doesn’t demonstrate technologies. That is factually incorrect.

"Experts have testified that a Mars Flyby mission would utilize the Space Launch System, architecture that will be central to a Mars landing. He further contended that the Obama administration’s proposed Asteroid Retrieval Mission (ARM) is a better stepping stone to Mars. However, the administration has not provided any details of how it fits into a larger exploration roadmap.

"The ARM mission lacks support from the stakeholder community and NASA’s own advisory bodies. It is a mission without a realistic budget, without a destination and without a certain launch date. I urge the Administrator to get his facts straight when comparing the value of potential NASA missions.”

FMI: http://science.house.gov