Assessment of NASA’s Mars Architecture 2007–2016
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study is based on work supported by Contract NASW-01001 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the agency that provided support for the project.
Cover: An artist’s impression of NASA’s next-generation rover, the Mars Science Laboratory. Illustration courtesy of NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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OTHER REPORTS OF THE SPACE STUDIES BOARD
An Assessment of Balance in NASA’s Science Programs (2006)
Assessment of Planetary Protection Requirements for Venus Missions: Letter Report (2006)
Distributed Arrays of Small Instruments for Solar-Terrestrial Research: Report of a Workshop (2006)
Issues Affecting the Future of the U.S. Space Science and Engineering Workforce (SSB with the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board [ASEB], 2006)
The Astrophysical Context of Life (SSB with the Board on Life Sciences, 2005)
Earth Science and Applications from Space: Urgent Needs and Opportunities to Serve the Nation (2005)
Extending the Effective Lifetimes of Earth Observing Research Missions (2005)
Preventing the Forward Contamination of Mars (2005)
Principal-Investigator-Led Missions in the Space Sciences (2005)
Priorities in Space Science Enabled by Nuclear Power and Propulsion (SSB with ASEB, 2005)
Review of Goals and Plans for NASA’s Space and Earth Sciences (2005)
Review of NASA Plans for the International Space Station (2005)
Science in NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration (2005)
Assessment of Options for Extending the Life of the Hubble Space Telescope: Final Report (SSB with ASEB, 2004)
Exploration of the Outer Heliosphere and the Local Interstellar Medium: A Workshop Report (2004)
Issues and Opportunities Regarding the U.S. Space Program: A Summary Report of a Workshop on National Space Policy (SSB with ASEB, 2004)
Plasma Physics of the Local Cosmos (2004)
Review of Science Requirements for the Terrestrial Planet Finder: Letter Report (2004)
Solar and Space Physics and Its Role in Space Exploration (2004)
Understanding the Sun and Solar System Plasmas: Future Directions in Solar and Space Physics (2004)
Utilization of Operational Environmental Satellite Data: Ensuring Readiness for 2010 and Beyond (SSB with ASEB and the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate [BASC], 2004)
Satellite Observations of the Earth’s Environment: Accelerating the Transition of Research to Operations (SSB with ASEB and BASC, 2003)
Steps to Facilitate Principal-Investigator-Led Earth Science Missions (2003)
The Sun to the Earth—and Beyond: Panel Reports (2003)
Assessment of Directions in Microgravity and Physical Sciences Research at NASA (2002)
New Frontiers in the Solar System: An Integrated Exploration Strategy (2002)
The Sun to Earth—and Beyond: A Decadal Research Strategy in Solar and Space Physics (2002)
Limited copies of these reports are available free of charge from:
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(202) 334-3477/ssb@nas.edu
www.nationalacademies.org/ssb/ssb.html
NOTE: Listed according to year of approval for release, which in some cases precedes the year of publication.
COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE NEXT DECADE MARS ARCHITECTURE
RETA F. BEEBE,
New Mexico State University,
Chair
JEFFREY BARNES,
Oregon State University
PENELOPE BOSTON,
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
STEPHEN BOUGHER,
University of Michigan
SHERRY L. CADY,
Portland State University
ROBERT CLAYTON,
University of Chicago
JEFFREY FORBES,
University of Colorado
JOHN GRANT,
Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum
RONALD GREELEY,
Arizona State University
VICTORIA HAMILTON,
University of Hawaii
CATHERINE JOHNSON,
University of California, San Diego
TIMOTHY McCOY,
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History
RALPH McNUTT,
Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
ANGUS McRONALD,
Global Aerospace Corporation
FRANCIS NIMMO,
University of California, Santa Cruz
Staff
DAVID H. SMITH, Study Director
RODNEY N. HOWARD, Senior Project Assistant
CATHERINE A. GRUBER, Assistant Editor
BRENDAN McFARLAND, Research Assistant
SPACE STUDIES BOARD
LENNARD A. FISK,
University of Michigan,
Chair
GEORGE A. PAULIKAS,
The Aerospace Corporation (retired),
Vice Chair
SPIRO K. ANTIOCHOS,
Naval Research Laboratory
DANIEL N. BAKER,
University of Colorado
RETA F. BEEBE,
New Mexico State University
ROGER D. BLANDFORD,
Stanford University
RADFORD BYERLY, JR.,
University of Colorado
JUDITH A. CURRY,
Georgia Institute of Technology
JACK D. FARMER,
Arizona State University
JACQUELINE N. HEWITT,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DONALD E.
INGBER, Harvard Medical School
RALPH H. JACOBSON,
The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (retired)
TAMARA E. JERNIGAN,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
KLAUS KEIL,
University of Hawaii
DEBRA S. KNOPMAN,
RAND Corporation
CALVIN W. LOWE,
Bowie State University
BERRIEN MOORE III,
University of New Hampshire
NORMAN NEUREITER,
Texas Instruments (retired)
SUZANNE OPARIL,
University of Alabama, Birmingham
RONALD F. PROBSTEIN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DENNIS W. READEY,
Colorado School of Mines
HARVEY D. TANANBAUM,
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
RICHARD H. TRULY,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (retired)
J. CRAIG WHEELER,
University of Texas, Austin
A. THOMAS YOUNG,
Lockheed Martin Corporation (retired)
GARY P. ZANK,
University of California, Riverside
MARCIA S. SMITH, Director
Preface
In a letter sent to Space Studies Board (SSB) Chair Lennard Fisk on December 29, 2005, Mary Cleave, NASA’s Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), explained that new scientific results from ongoing Mars missions, together with changes in funding levels for the Mars Exploration Program, have compelled the SMD to revisit the program’s architecture and the sequence of missions planned for launch to Mars after 2010. As a result, NASA requested that the SSB review and evaluate the new architecture in a time frame to support NASA approval of the Mars Exploration Program’s revised architecture in mid-summer of 2006. In response to this request, the ad hoc Committee to Review the Next Decade Mars Architecture was established and met at the National Academies’ Keck Center in Washington, D.C., on March 29-31, 2006. The committee’s deliberations and discussions relating to the conclusions and recommendations contained in this report were initiated at the Washington meeting and continued in a conference call held on April 6. During the course of the Washington meeting the members of the committee consulted related reports issued by the SSB and other National Research Council (NRC) committees1 and heard relevant presentations. A draft report was completed during the first week in May and sent to external reviewers for commentary. A new draft responding to the reviewers’ comments was completed in early June, and the report was approved for release on June 16. Edited copies of the report, formatted as a letter, were sent to NASA on June 30. This, the final version of the report, supersedes all previous versions.
The work of the committee was made easier thanks to the important help, advice, and comments provided by numerous individuals from a variety of public and private organizations. These include the following: J. Douglas McCuistion (NASA, Science Mission Directorate), Daniel McCleese (NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Noel Hinners (Lockheed Martin Astronautics, retired), W. Bruce Banerdt (NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Michael Meyer (NASA, Science Mission Directorate), and Raymond Arvidson (Washington University).
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
The committee wishes to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report: Martha S. Gilmore, Wesleyan University; Donald M. Hunten, University of Arizona; Harry Y. McSween, University of Tennessee; Dawn Y. Sumner, University of California, Davis; G.J. Wasserburg, California Institute of Technology; A. Thomas Young, Lockheed Martin Corporation (retired); and Maria T. Zuber, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Richard M. Goody, Harvard University (professor emeritus). Appointed by the NRC, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.