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Another example might be cryogenic propellant storage and transfer. That's an extremely important and difficult problem going to Mars, because you've got to be able to store cryogenics for at least a year-and-a-half, probably longer, just because you've got to spend a year getting them up to the space station. So once you've got them there, they've got to stay there and not boil off while you're waiting to fuel your Mars vehicle and while you're sending your Mars vehicle on the way to Mars. It's got to not boil off the fuel that will be needed for the return.

We don't have that storage technology yet. That's something we would need to start developing very soon. It's not nearly as severe a problem for the lunar missions. You still need the cryogenics, you need to get them to low Earth orbit, you need to store them; you don't need to store them in quantity or for-in as much quantity or for nearly as long as you do for Mars. So a first step in cryo-propellant storage and fuel transfer, you would gain a lot of experience and a lot of understanding in the lunar program that could be applied to Mars. 

Now, again, we can develop all that technology in low Earth orbit and just try to--

Mr. TORRICELLI. Yeah, I understand your point.

Dr. RIDE [continuing]. Big tanks and leaving them up there for a long period of time. But this-you know, it would provide stepping stones to certain technologies.

Mr. TORRICELLI. Finally, let me ask you, the dispute that has taken place with regard to the Pathfinder funding and the failure of the administration to give support for basic research goals, if that were to continue another year or two, are we jeopardizing some of the goals that you studied in terms of Mars and the Moon? Even the modest dates that have been vaguely outlined here, have they been placed in any jeopardy?

Dr. RIDE. Yes. Technology development, it's, I think, pretty widely accepted that technology development is the first thing you need to start on when you start a program, and that you have to start your technology development between five and seven years before you hope to start using that technology-not just using the technology, but designing things around that technology. Technology is something that, unfortunately, you can't predict. Maybe it won't work out, maybe it will. You can't establish your designs and start spending money on a Mars vehicle, for example, until you're sure that aerobraking technology is going to be acceptable for that voyage.

We need to be starting the technology development at a serious pace within the next year or two to support both the lunar and the Mars initiatives as they were defined. In fact, both of them assumed that we would be starting technology now--you know, in FY '88 technology. We allowed that in the ambitious development of these initiatives. Again, this is-you know, we didn't necessarily have an eye towards realism in that area when we did that. We said go out and design us your ambitious initiatives and we'll allow you to start your technology development this year.

Putting off the technology development puts off the initiatives. Putting off the life sciences work, putting off the space station,