An Enabling Foundation for NASA's Earth and Space Science Missions

An Enabling Foundation for NASA's Earth and Space Science Missions PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2010-02-25

Total Pages: 77

ISBN-13: 0309151589

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NASA's space and Earth science program is composed of two principal components: spaceflight projects and mission-enabling activities. Most of the budget of NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is applied to spaceflight missions, but NASA identifies nearly one quarter of the SMD budget as "mission enabling." The principal mission-enabling activities, which traditionally encompass much of NASA's research and analysis (R&A) programs, include support for basic research, theory, modeling, and data analysis; suborbital payloads and flights and complementary ground-based programs; advanced technology development; and advanced mission and instrumentation concept studies. While the R&A program is essential to the development and support of NASA's diverse set of space and Earth science missions, defining and articulating an appropriate scale for mission-enabling activities have posed a challenge throughout NASA's history. This volume identifies the appropriate roles for mission-enabling activities and metrics for assessing their effectiveness. Furthermore, the book evaluates how, from a strategic perspective, decisions should be made about balance between mission-related and mission-enabling elements of the overall program as well as balance between various elements within the mission-enabling component. Collectively, these efforts will help SMD to make a good program even better.

Powering Science

Powering Science PDF

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2018-01-29

Total Pages: 127

ISBN-13: 0309463831

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NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) currently operates over five dozen missions, with approximately two dozen additional missions in development. These missions span the scientific fields associated with SMD's four divisionsâ€"Astrophysics, Earth Science, Heliophysics, and Planetary Sciences. Because a single mission can consist of multiple spacecraft, NASA-SMD is responsible for nearly 100 operational spacecraft. The most high profile of these are the large strategic missions, often referred to as "flagships." Large strategic missions are essential to maintaining the global leadership of the United States in space exploration and in science because only the United States has the budget, technology, and trained personnel in multiple scientific fields to conduct missions that attract a range of international partners. This report examines the role of large, strategic missions within a balanced program across NASA-SMD space and Earth sciences programs. It considers the role and scientific productivity of such missions in advancing science, technology and the long-term health of the field, and provides guidance that NASA can use to help set the priority of larger missions within a properly balanced program containing a range of mission classes.

Review of Goals and Plans for NASA's Space and Earth Sciences

Review of Goals and Plans for NASA's Space and Earth Sciences PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2006-04-05

Total Pages: 74

ISBN-13: 0309181046

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Both the President's commission on how to implement the President's space exploration initiative and Congress asked the NRC undertake an assessment and review of the science proposed to be carried out under the initiative. An initial response to that request was the NRC February 2005 report, Science in NASA's Vision for Space Exploration. While that report's preparation, NASA created capabilities and strategy roadmapping efforts which became the object of the next phase of the NRC review. The new NASA administrator modified that NASA activity resulting in changes in the NRC review effort. This report provides a review of six science strategy roadmaps: robotic and human exploration of Mars; solar system exploration; universe exploration; search for earth-like planets; earth science and applications from space; and sun-earth system connection. In addition, an assessment of cross-cutting and integration issues is presented.

NASA Mission to Planet Earth Program: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Tra

NASA Mission to Planet Earth Program: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Tra PDF

Author: United States Congress Senate Committ

Publisher: Palala Press

Published: 2018-03-03

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 9781379127734

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