There is a House hearing today on deep space exploration policy:

• Moon versus asteroids on the path to Mars – Space Politics
• Next Steps in Human Exploration to Mars and Beyond – Committee on Science – U.S. House of Representatives

The witnesses include:

• Dr. Louis Friedman, Co-Lead, Keck Institute for Space Studies Asteroid Retrieval Mission Study and Executive Director Emeritus, The Planetary Society
• Dr. Paul Spudis, Senior Staff Scientist, Lunar and Planetary Institute
• Dr. Steven M. Squyres, Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University
• Mr. Douglas Cooke, Owner, Cooke Concepts and Solutions

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Robert Zubrin offers his usual calm and considered thoughts on the proposed asteroid retrieval mission: NASA’s Asteroid Absurdity – SpaceNews.com

Here’s the Planetary Society’s view: The Planetary Society Announces Conditional Support of NASA’s Asteroid Mission – The Planetary Society

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A comment from Stewart Money on the Bigelow contract from NASA to study public/commercial partnerships for deep space exploration:  Exploring NASA’s Agreement with Bigelow – Innerspace.net

Jeff Foust reports on how Charles Bolden sees NASA’s commercial crew program and how it is seen by a staffer to  Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), who is chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that sets NASA’s funding: Differing perspectives on commercial crew – Space Politics.

Jeff writes about the struggles by the planetary science community to avoid cuts in NASA funding: NASA operating plan may reverse Congressional increase in planetary science – Space Politics.

Eric Berger asks the big question about NASA: Is NASA about jobs, or actually accomplishing something? – SciGuy/Houston Chronicle.

Eric notes that regardless of Republican complaints about the Administration’s NASA policies, they vote to reduce its budget: Washington is stinting NASA, as usual – SciGuy/Houston Chronicle blog

Res Communis posts the latest collection of space and aviation related law, regulation and policy links: Library: A Round-up of Reading