The NASA Advisory Council will be chaired by former Senator and Apollo astronaut Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt. Former Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong joins Schmitt as one of the distinguished experts on the council, along with Gen. Lester L. Lyles, USAF (Ret.), former commander, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and Dr. Charles F. Kennel, director, Scripps Institute of Oceanography.

The NASA Advisory Council was restructured to meet agency needs as it implements the Vision for Space Exploration, outlined by President Bush two years ago to take astronauts back to the moon and on to Mars, and other destinations in the solar system. A number of previously-chartered standing committees are incorporated into the restructured council.

The NASA Advisory Council will include subject matter experts in five key areas: exploration, science, aeronautics, human capital, and audit and finance, and also include three ex-officio members from the National Research Council's Space Studies Board, Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, and the Institute of Medicine.

"I am looking forward to working closely with NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and NASA senior management as they address the exciting challenges facing the agency as it prepares for its next 50 years," Schmitt said.

"These challenges include returning the space shuttle safely to flight, completing the International Space Station, developing a new crew exploration vehicle and returning humans to the surface of the moon and then on to Mars."

Senator Schmitt will be joined on the NASA Advisory Council by the following distinguished experts:

--Lt. Gen. James A. Abrahamson, USAF (Ret.) Aerospace Consultant

--Dr. Juan J. Alonso, Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics Stanford University

--Neil Armstrong Apollo 11 Astronaut

--Dr. Raymond S. Colladay, Chair Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, National Research Council

--Dr. Lennard A. Fisk, Chair Space Studies Board, National Research Council

--Robert M. Hanisee Trust Company of the West

--Capt. Frederick H. Hauck, USN (Ret.) Former Space Shuttle Astronaut

--Dr. Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., Director Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington

--Hon. Kay Coles James, Consultant Former Director, Office of Personnel Management

--Dr. Stephen I. Katz, Director National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases National Institutes of Health

--Dr. Charles F. Kennel, Director Scripps Institute of Oceanography

--Dr. Gerald L. Kulcinski, Associate Dean, Research University of Wisconsin-Madison

--Dr. Eugene H. Levy, Professor of Physics & Astronomy Rice University

--Dr. John M. Logsdon, Director Space Policy Institute, George Washington University

--Dr. David Longnecker, Chair Committee on Aerospace Medicine and the Medicine of Extreme Environments, Institute of Medicine

--Gen. Lester L. Lyles, USAF (Ret.) The Lyles Group Former Commander, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio

--Wendell Maddox, President and Chief Executive Officer ION Corporation

--Hon. Edward R. McPherson Under Secretary of Education

--Dr. R. James Milgram, Professor Department of Mathematics, Stanford University

--Hon. Michael Montelongo, Senior Vice President, Strategic Marketing Sodexho Inc.

--Dr. Mark S. Robinson, Research Associate Professor Department of Geological Sciences, Northwestern University

--Howard J. Stanislawski, Attorney Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood, LLP

--Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson Frederick P. Rose Director, Hayden Planetarium American Museum of Natural History

The NASA Advisory Council met Monday at the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington; and will meet again on Wednesday at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, in room 562 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The meetings are open to the public.

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Add to Delicious