Moonwalkers Armstrong and Cernan to Testify Before Senate on Wednesday

Apollo commanders Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan will testify before the U.S. Senate U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Wednesday.

The hearing marks a rare appearance for the reclusive Armstrong, who was the first man to walk on the moon as commander of Apollo 11. Cernan commanded Apollo 17, which was the last American mission to land on the lunar surface in 1972.

Both former astronauts have been highly critical of President Barack Obama’s plan for NASA, which emphasizes commercializing low orbit and turns away from his predecessor’s focus on returning Americans to the moon by 2020. They have called the policy directionless and one that forfeits American leadership in space.

Armstrong and Cernan will be joined at the witness table by:

• John P. Holdren, Director Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Charles F. Bolden Jr., Administrator National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Mr. Norman R. Augustine, Chairman Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee.