Description
While a number of remarkable discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics have taken place over the past 20 years, many important questions remain. Continued progress in these fields will require NASA s leadership. To help determine if NASA can meet this challenge, Congress, in the 2005 NASA Authorization Act, directed the agency to have "[t]he performance of each division in the Science directorate...reviewed and assessed by the National Academy of Sciences at 5-year intervals." In early 2006, NASA asked the NRC to conduct such an assessment for the agency s Astrophysics Division. This report presents an assessment of how well NASA s current program addresses the strategies, goals, and priorities outlined in previous Academy reports. The report provides an analysis of progress toward realizing these strategies, goals, and priorities; and a discussion of actions that could be taken to optimize the scientific value of the program in the context of current and forecasted resources.
