NASA Appropriator Hails Successful Landing of Curiosity

Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and related agencies, which oversees funding for NASA, was at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to witness the landing of the rover Curiosity on Mars. He released this statement:

“NASA has always been a model of public and private partnering – our brightest home-grown entrepreneurs and innovators working hand in hand with our government to push back the frontiers of space and science.

“I was honored to witness the spectacular success of landing Curiosity from NASA’s Pasadena Lab, and the excitement here was something to behold.

“Dropping that appropriately named one-ton mega-laboratory onto rugged terrain is a stunning American achievement – and it’s only the beginning. Now NASA and its partners go to work mining a literal mountain of new data that will provide valuable insights concerning our life on earth.

“Administrator Charles Bolden and the whole dedicated NASA team are to be commended as they tackle this crucial next stage and satisfy our ‘Curiosity.'”