NOV 23 1959

lr. George Derbyshire

Space Scelence Doasd

National Academy of Sciences
2101 Constitution Avenue
washington 25, D.C,

Dear George:

Thank you for the duplicated Westex materials, just arrived. ould it
be appropriate to give the bound collection an SS2B- number for easy re-
ference?

If I did not already indicate it, I would suggest furnbshing copies to
N B Steinbach, and also to Dr S E Luria, at MIT, who is on Commitee 6. I
would appreciate your confirming to me how this material has been distri-~
buted to avoid unnecessary duplication on my part.

Ag for exchange with, say, Terusalimskii,in Moscow would you think it
appropriate to send him pp. 1-16 (emitting 17) of the introduction and
references (1),&5, as a basis of preliminary discussion? Please give me
SSB views on this as soon as possible, in view of the inminence of the Nice
conference,

Also very urgent for the same purpose is an official clarification of
NASA's position on decontamination. So far as I know there has been no
public statement at all and I hardly know what attribution I can properly
make as to the US policy on this point. I would strongly urge th&ét a public
or publishable statement be available from NaSA at least by the time of the
actual meeting. Calvin and I and others will have to look for explicit guidance
on what we can appropriately say,

A propos SSBe120, I am in full accord, However, it should be obvious that
the proposed conference is side-stepping the inteuded functions of the UN
special committee on space, which should be burdened with program decisions
and the formulation of international agreements. I assume that it is wise
strategy to cncourage a transinformational conference as a cesirable pre-
liminary to the resumption of more legalistic discussions.

Is there any definite word as yet on Russian participation at Nice? My
(all our) interest in attending was predicated on this,

Yours shcerely,

Joshua Lederberg