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Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
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OCR for page 1
On Robotic Lunar Precursor Missions of the Office of Exploration
On August 21, 1992, Space Studies Board Chair Louis J. Lanzerotti and
Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration Chair Larry Esposito sent the
following letter to Dr. Michael D. Griffin, associate administrator for NASA's
Office of Exploration.
As you know, the Space Studies Board is the National Research Council's
primary advisory body for civil space research. 1 Within this broad scope, the
charter of the Board's Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration
(COMPLEX) is to advise the Board on "the entire range of planetary system
studies that can be conducted from space." 2 This advisory purview extends
across the entire spectrum of U.S. space research conducted by both "NASA
and other government agencies." 3 COMPLEX's advisory capacity thus
includes planetary science aspects of the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI)
being implemented by NASA's Office of Exploration (OEXP).
At COMPLEX's April 27-28, 1992, meeting in Washington, D.C., you briefed
committee members on the report, Workshop on Early Robotic Missions to
the Moon, 4 sponsored by your office, and on the current status of OEXP's
lunar exploration program. The attached scientific assessment, prepared by
COMPLEX based on information provided during this meeting, gauges the
extent to which the flight program outlined in the LPI report addresses the
recommendations that COMPLEX has made on priorities for lunar science.
In your presentation to COMPLEX, you noted that the federal budget
development schedule obliged OEXP to initiate a rapid assessment of the
possible instruments for its proposed lunar orbiters and lander, precluding a
more widely publicized and more formally peer-reviewed instrument
evaluation. The Board notes that a broadly based selection process that
includes peer review has served the science community very well in the past;
it has helped NASA accomplish its goals, while assuring fair competition and
the best possible science. As a result, although the Board and committee
appreciate your efforts to act expeditiously and streamline the procurement
process, it is recommended that future OEXP review and selection processes
promote and actively facilitate the widest possible community participation.
Overall, COMPLEX's assessment suggests that the program of robotic lunar
exploration that the committee reviewed presents a significant opportunity to
advance scientific investigation of the Moon. It is emphasized that the
committee's assessment is limited to these lunar science objectives and does
not consider the separate issue of the adequacy of data from the proposed
flight program to support a subsequent program of human exploration. The
OCR for page 2
Board and COMPLEX look forward to providing further guidance on scientific
aspects of the SEI on a continuing basis.
1 National Academy of Sciences President Detlev Bronk, June 26, 1958.
2 Assessment of Solar System Exploration Programs: 1991, Committee on
Planetary and Lunar Exploration, Space Studies Board, National Academy
Press, Washington, D.C., 1991, page 3.
3 Reference 2, page 3.
4 Workshop on Early Robotic Missions to the Moon, Lunar and Planetary
Institute, Houston, Texas, February 1992; proceedings of a workshop
organized by NASA's Office of Exploration.
OCR for page 3
On Robotic Lunar Precursor Missions of the Office of Exploration
The Space Studies Board's Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration
(COMPLEX) met in Washington, D.C., on April 27-28, 1992, to review the
robotic lunar probes proposed by NASA's Office of Exploration (OEXP) as
precursor missions for its program of human exploration. The committee's
intention was to determine the extent to which OEXP's program was
consistent with recommendations for lunar science outlined in previous
COMPLEX reports. 1,2,3
During its deliberations, COMPLEX was briefed on the current status of
OEXP's lunar exploration program by Dr. Michael D. Griffin, NASA's
Associate Administrator for Exploration. The committee was particularly keen
to discuss the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) report, Workshop on Early
Robotic Missions to the Moon. 4 This report, sponsored by OEXP, outlines
the instrument complement for a flight program of two lunar orbiters and a
single lander intended by OEXP to gather scientific and engineering data
necessary to facilitate the safe return of humans to the Moon. While
COMPLEX recognizes that these are not primarily scientific missions, they
have the potential to gather data addressing scientific questions discussed in
past COMPLEX reports.
The committee concludes that the LPI workshop's recommendations for the
instrument payloads of Orbital Missions 1 and 2 are responsive to the
priorities for lunar science stated in past COMPLEX reports. In particular,
Orbiter Mission 1 would address COMPLEX's highest-priority goal for lunar
exploration, to "determine the chemistry of the lunar surface on both a global
and regional scale." 5
The committee has some concerns, however, about instrumentation proposed
to perform these observations. The LPI report states that the instrument of
choice is a "gamma-ray/neutron spectrometer with a germanium detector."
COMPLEX concurs with this preference but disagrees with the report's
subsequent advice that "if development concerns arise regarding this
detector, we recommend use of a NaI detector with subsequent flight of a
germanium system." 6 Because the spectral resolution of the germanium
detector is far superior to that of the NaI detector, COMPLEX recommends
that OEXP fly a germanium detector, even at the expense of a modest launch
delay.
With regard to the other proposed instruments for Orbital Missions 1 and 2,
COMPLEX finds that the proposed visible and infrared imaging spectrometers
as well as the imaging, laser altimetry, and gravity mapping (using two
spacecraft for far-side gravity determinations) experiments would satisfy high-
OCR for page 4
priority measurement objectives that COMPLEX has presented previously. 7
The lander mission appears to have scientific value, but its present lack of
definition precludes an adequate assessment of its potential contribution to
the achievement of COMPLEX's objectives.
1 Strategy for Exploration of the Inner Planets: 1977-1987, Committee on
Planetary and Lunar Exploration, Space Science Board, National Academy of
Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1978.
2 1990 Update to Strategy for Exploration of the Inner Planets, Committee on
Planetary and Lunar Exploration, Space Studies Board, National Academy
Press, Washington, D.C., 1990
3 Assessment of Solar System Exploration Programs: 1991, Committee on
Planetary and Lunar Exploration, Space Studies Board, National Academy
Press, Washington, D.C., 1991, page 3.
4 Workshop on Early Robotic Missions to the Moon, Lunar and Planetary
Institute, Houston, Texas, February 1992; proceedings of a workshop
organized by NASA's Office of Exploration.
5 Reference 3, page 7.
6 Reference 4, page 2.
7 Reference 2, page 18.
