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A Science Strategy for Space Physics: Part II
A Science Strategy for Space Physics
Part II
The Key Topics in Space Physics Research
Part II of this report discusses five key topics that the committees believe
must be addressed by the space physics community in the coming decade. No
attempt has been made to prioritize the topics themselves; they are all important.
The CSSP and CSTR do, however, prioritize the approaches to trying to answer
each topic's major questions. Although the report covers what the committees
consider should be the major emphases in the field, there must also be a broad
spectrum of other types of research, most of which could be classified as "small
science," that may in turn lead to the major thrusts for the following decade.
Several aspects of each of the key topics are considered, including:
The importance of the topic;
REPORT MENU
NOTICE
MEMBERSHIP The current state of knowledge;
SUMMARY
PART I
The principal outstanding questions or unproved theories;
PART II
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
The extent to which the currently approved programs are expected to
CHAPTER 3
address the outstanding questions. This assessment is based on the optimistic
CHAPTER 4
assumption that the entire currently approved program will be successfully
CHAPTER 5
completed-that those NASA space missions that have been approved for a new
PART III
start will be launched and will operate successfully and that current NSF
APPENDIX
initiatives will be funded to successful completion; and
The efforts required beyond the currently approved program, with
focus on the next decade. Although the current program can be expected to
acquire the new data or insights it was designed to obtain, it will also lead to a
new set of questions that had not been foreseen. Those new questions are
necessarily beyond the scope of the present study. It is, however, possible to
recognize the known limitations of, or gaps in, the currently approved program
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A Science Strategy for Space Physics: Part II
and to sketch out what needs to be done next. It is obvious that any science
strategy must be frequently reviewed and updated to take account of recent
events.
In describing the recommended future directions, the CSSP and CSTR
have considered what needs to be measured, to what accuracy, and, in some
cases, with what new or emerging technology. The committees do not, however,
address implementation issues such as whether something is best done with a
small Explorer or a large mission, nor the temporal sequence of new space
missions. Such plans are the responsibility of the implementing agencies and are
more subject to the political process than is the establishment of scientific
objectives, which are the focus of this report.
Before each of the key topics is discussed, an overarching statement is
required about the role of theory and numerical simulation. The importance of
theoretical research in space physics has been emphasized repeatedly in NRC
studies.1 This type of research must not be separated from the observational
programs. It must continue to be a central element associated with every single
one of the five key topics, in both the immediate and the more distant future.
Theory is what connects the measurements to scientific understanding. The
committees encourage and expect to see an evolution in the level of
sophistication of theory and numerical simulations. The growing availability of
supercomputers and massively parallel computers will allow the development of
increasingly realistic magnetohydrodynamic models extended to three
dimensions. For many problems, it is necessary to go beyond quasilinear theory
and come to grips with strongly nonlinear effects; new methods and even new
languages are being developed to treat those nonlinearities.
The presentation of the key topics arbitrarily starts at the center of the
Sun, progresses through the solar atmosphere and solar wind to the Earth's
magnetosphere and atmosphere, and then concludes with the cosmic rays
entering the solar system from the galaxy and the universe.
NOTE
1. See, for example, Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate and the
Space Studies Board, National Research Council, A Space Physics Paradox:
Why Has Increased Funding Been Accompanied by Decreased Effectiveness in
the Conduct of Space Physics Research?, National Academy Press, Washington,
D.C., 1994; and Space Studies Board, National Research Council, Assessment
of Programs in Solar and Space Physics-1991, National Academy Press,
Washington, D.C., 1991.
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