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Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
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Summary

SCIENCE AND EXPLORATION

More than four decades have passed since a human first set foot on the Moon. Great strides have been made since in our understanding of what is required to support an enduring human presence in space, as evidenced by progressively more advanced orbiting human outposts, culminating in the current International Space Station (ISS). However, of the more than 500 humans who have so far ventured into space, most have gone only as far as near-Earth orbit, and none have traveled beyond the orbit of the Moon. Achieving humans’ further progress into the solar system has proved far more difficult than imagined in the heady days of the Apollo missions, but the potential rewards remain substantial. Overcoming the challenges posed by risk and cost—and developing the technology and capabilities to make long space voyages feasible—is an achievable goal. Further, the scientific accomplishments required to meet this goal will bring a deeper understanding of the performance of people, animals, plants, microbes, materials, and engineered systems not only in the space environment but also on Earth, providing terrestrial benefits by advancing fundamental knowledge in these areas.

During its more than 50-year history, NASA’s success in human space exploration has depended on the agency’s ability to effectively address a wide range of biomedical, engineering, physical science, and related obstacles—an achievement made possible by NASA’s strong and productive commitments to life and physical sciences research for human space exploration, and by its use of human space exploration infrastructures for scientific discovery.* This partnership of NASA with the research community reflects the original mandate from Congress in 1958 to promote science and technology, an endeavor that requires an active and vibrant research program. The committee acknowledges the many achievements of NASA, which are all the more remarkable given budgetary challenges and changing directions within the agency. In the past decade, however, a consequence of those challenges has been a life and physical sciences research program that was dramatically reduced in both scale and scope, with the result that the agency is poorly positioned to take full advantage of the scientific opportunities offered by the now fully equipped and staffed ISS laboratory, or to effectively pursue the scientific research needed to support the development of advanced human exploration capabilities.

Although its review has left it deeply concerned about the current state of NASA’s life and physical sciences research, the Committee for the Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space is nevertheless

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* These programs’ accomplishments are described in several National Research Council (NRC) reports—see for example, Assessment of Directions in Microgravity and Physical Sciences Research at NASA (The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2003).

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
×

convinced that a focused science and engineering program can achieve successes that will bring the space community, the U.S. public, and policymakers to an understanding that we are ready for the next significant phase of human space exploration. The goal of this report is to lay out steps whereby NASA can reinvigorate its partnership with the life and physical sciences research community and develop a forward-looking portfolio of research that will provide the basis for recapturing the excitement and value of human spaceflight—thereby enabling the U.S. space program to deliver on new exploration initiatives that serve the nation, excite the public, and place the United States again at the forefront of space exploration for the global good. This report examines the fundamental science and technology that underpin developments whose payoffs for human exploration programs will be substantial, as the following examples illustrate:

• An effective countermeasures program to attenuate the adverse effects of the space environment on the health and performance capabilities of astronauts, a development that will make it possible to conduct prolonged human space exploration missions.

• A deeper understanding of the mechanistic role of gravity in the regulation of biological systems (e.g., mechanisms by which microgravity triggers the loss of bone mass or cardiovascular function)—understanding that will provide insights for strategies to optimize biological function during spaceflight as well as on Earth (e.g., slowing the loss of bone or cardiovascular function with aging).

• Game changers, such as architecture-altering systems involving on-orbit depots for cryogenic rocket fuels, an example of a revolutionary advance possible only with the scientific understanding required to make this Apollo-era notion a reality. As an example, for some lunar missions such a depot could produce major cost savings by enabling use of an Ares I type launch system rather than a much larger Ares V type system.

• The critical ability to collect or produce large amounts of water from a source such as the Moon or Mars, which requires a scientific understanding of how to retrieve and refine water-bearing materials from extremely cold, rugged regions under partial-gravity conditions. Once cost-effective production is available, water can be transported to either surface bases or orbit for use in the many exploration functions that require it. Major cost savings will result from using that water in a photovoltaic-powered electrolysis and cryogenics plant to produce liquid oxygen and hydrogen for propulsion.

• Advances stemming from research on fire retardants, fire suppression, fire sensors, and combustion in microgravity that provide the basis for a comprehensive fire-safety system, greatly reducing the likelihood of a catastrophic event.

• Regenerative fuel cells that can provide lunar surface power for the long eclipse period (14 days) at high rates (e.g., greater than tens of kilowatts). Research on low-mass tankage, thermal management, and fluid handling in low gravity is on track to achieve regenerative fuel cells with specific energy greater than two times that of advanced batteries.

In keeping with its charge, the committee developed recommendations for research fitting in either one or both of these two broad categories:

1. Research that enables space exploration: scientific research in the life and physical sciences that is needed to develop advanced exploration technologies and processes, particularly those that are profoundly affected by operation in a space environment.

2. Research enabled by access to space: scientific research in the life and physical sciences that takes advantage of unique aspects of the space environment to significantly advance fundamental scientific understanding.

The key research challenges, and the steps needed to craft a program of research capable of facilitating the progress of human exploration in space, are highlighted below and described in more detail in the body of the report. In the committee’s view, these are steps that NASA will have to take in order to recapture a vision of space exploration that is achievable and that has inspired the country, and humanity, since the founding of NASA.

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
×

ESTABLISHING A SPACE LIFE AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES
RESEARCH PROGRAM: PROGRAMMATIC ISSUES

Research in the complex environment of space requires a strong, flexible, and supportive programmatic structure. Also essential to a vibrant and ultimately successful life and physical sciences space research program is a partnership between NASA and the scientific community at large. The present program, however, has contracted to below critical mass and is perceived from outside NASA as lacking the stature within the agency and the commitment of resources to attract researchers or to accomplish real advances. For this program to effectively promote research to meet the national space exploration agenda, a number of issues will have to be addressed.

Administrative Oversight of Life and Physical Sciences Research

Currently, life and physical science endeavors have no clear institutional home at NASA. In the context of a programmatic home for an integrated research agenda, program leadership and execution are likely to be productive only if aggregated under a single management structure and housed in a NASA directorate or key organization that understands both the value of science and its potential application in future exploration missions. The committee concluded that:

Leadership with both true scientific gravitas and a sufficiently high level in the overall organizational structure at NASA is needed to ensure that there will be a “voice at the table” when the agency engages in difficult deliberations about prioritizing resources and engaging in new activities.

The successful renewal of a life and physical sciences research program will depend on strong leadership with a unique authority over a dedicated and enduring research funding stream.

It is important that the positioning of leadership within the agency allows the conduct of the necessary research programs as well as interactions, integration, and influence within the mission-planning elements that develop new exploration options.

Elevating the Priority of Life and Physical Sciences Research in Space Exploration

It is of paramount importance that the life and physical sciences research portfolio supported by NASA, both extramurally and intramurally, receives appropriate attention within the agency and that its organizational structure is optimally designed to meet NASA’s needs. The committee concluded that:

The success of future space exploration depends on life and physical sciences research being central to NASA’s exploration mission and being embraced throughout the agency as an essential translational step in the execution of space exploration missions.

A successful life and physical sciences program will depend on research being an integral component of spaceflight operations and on astronauts’ participation in these endeavors being viewed as a component of each mission.

The collection and analysis of a broad array of physiological and psychological data from astronauts before, during, and after a mission are necessary for advancing knowledge of the effects of the space environment on human health and for improving the safety of human space exploration. If there are legal concerns about implementing this approach, they could be addressed by the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections.

Establishing a Stable and Sufficient Funding Base

A renewed funding base for fundamental and applied life and physical sciences research is essential for attracting the scientific community needed to meet the prioritized research objectives laid out in this report. Researchers

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
×

must have a reasonable level of confidence in the sustainability of research funding if they are expected to focus their laboratories, staff, and students on research issues relevant to space exploration. The committee concluded that:

In accord with elevating the priority of life and physical sciences research, it is important that the budget to support research be sufficient, sustained, and appropriately balanced between intramural and extramural activities. As a general conclusion regarding the allocation of funds, an extramural budget should support an extramural research program sufficiently robust to ensure a stable community of scientists and engineers who are prepared to lead future space exploration research and train the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Research productivity and efficiency will be enhanced if the historical collaborations of NASA with other sponsoring agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health, are sustained, strengthened, and expanded to include other agencies.

Improving the Process for Solicitation and Review of High-Quality Research

Familiarity with, and the predictability of, the research solicitation process are critical to enabling researchers to plan and conduct activities in their laboratories that enable them to prepare high-quality research proposals. Regularity in frequency of solicitations, ideally multiple solicitations per year, would help to ensure that the community of investigators remains focused on life and physical science research areas relevant to the agency, thereby creating a sustainable research network. The committee concluded that:

Regularly issued solicitations for NASA-sponsored life and physical sciences research are necessary to attract investigators to research that enables or is enabled by space exploration. Effective solicitations should include broad research announcements to encourage a wide array of highly innovative applications, targeted research announcements to ensure that high-priority mission-oriented goals are met, and team research announcements that specifically foster multidisciplinary translational research.

The legitimacy of NASA’s peer-review systems for extramural and intramural research hinges on the assurance that the review process, including the actions taken by NASA as a result of review recommendations, is transparent and incorporates a clear rationale for prioritizing intramural and extramural investigations.

The quality of NASA-supported research and its interactions with the scientific community would be enhanced by the assembly of a research advisory committee, composed of 10 to 15 independent life and physical scientists, to oversee and endorse the process by which intramural and extramural research projects are selected for support after peer review of their scientific merit. Such a committee would be charged with advising and making recommendations to the leadership of the life and physical sciences program on matters relating to research activities.

Rejuvenating a Strong Pipeline of Intellectual Capital Through Training and Mentoring Programs

A critical number of investigators is required to sustain a healthy and productive scientific community. A strong pipeline of intellectual capital can be developed by modeling a training and mentoring program on other successful programs in the life and physical sciences. Building a program in life and physical sciences would benefit from ensuring that an adequate number of flight- and ground-based investigators are participating in research that will enable future space exploration. The committee concluded that:

Educational programs and training opportunities effectively expand the pool of graduate students, scientists, and engineers who will be prepared to improve the translational application of fundamental and applied life and physical sciences research to space exploration needs.

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
×

Linking Science to Needed Mission Capabilities Through Multidisciplinary Translational Programs

Complex systems problems of the type that human exploration missions will increasingly encounter will need to be solved with integrated teams that are likely to include scientists from a number of disciplines, as well as engineers, mission analysts, and technology developers. The interplay between and among the life and physical sciences and engineering, along with a strong focus on cost-effectiveness, will require multidisciplinary approaches. Multidisciplinary translational programs can link the science to the gaps in mission capabilities through planned and enabled data collection mechanisms. The committee concluded that:

A long-term strategic plan to maximize team research opportunities and initiatives would accelerate the trajectory of research discoveries and improve the efficiency of translating those discoveries to solutions for the complex problems associated with space exploration.

Improved central information networks would facilitate data sharing with and analysis by the life and physical science communities and would enhance the science results derived from flight opportunities.

ESTABLISHING A LIFE AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH PROGRAM:
AN INTEGRATED MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH PORTFOLIO

Areas of Highest-Priority Research

NASA has a strong and successful track record in human spaceflight made possible by a backbone of science and engineering accomplishments. Decisions regarding future space exploration, however, will require the generation and use of new knowledge in the life and physical sciences for successful implementation of any options chosen. Chapters 4 through 10 in this report identify and prioritize research questions important both to conducting successful space exploration and to increasing the fundamental understanding of physics and biology that is enabled by experimentation in the space environment. These two interconnected concepts—that science is enabled by access to space and that science enables future exploration missions—testify to the powerful complementarity of science and the human spaceflight endeavor. For example, the research recommended in this report addresses unanswered questions related to the health and welfare of humans undertaking extended space missions, to technologies needed to support such missions, and to logistical issues with potential impacts on the health of space travelers, such as ensuring adequate nutrition, protection against exposure to radiation, suitable thermoregulation, appropriate immune function, and attention to stress and behavioral factors. At the same time, progress in answering such questions will find broader applications as well.

It is not possible in this brief summary to describe or even adequately summarize the highest-priority research recommended by the committee. However, the recommendations selected (from a much larger body of discipline suggestions and recommendations) as having the highest overall priority for the coming decade are listed briefly as broad topics below. The committee considered these recommendations to be the minimal set called for in its charge to develop an integrated portfolio of research enabling and enabled by access to space and thus did not attempt to further prioritize among them. In addition, it recognized that further prioritization among these disparate topic areas will be possible only in the context of specific policy directions to be set by NASA and the nation. Nevertheless, the committee has provided tools and metrics that will allow NASA to carry out further prioritization (as summarized below in the section “Research Portfolio Implementation”).

The recommended research portfolio is divided into the five disciplines areas and two integrative translational areas represented by the study panels that the committee directed. The extensive details (such as research time-frames and categorizations as enabling, enabled-by, or both) of the research recommended as having the highest priority are presented in Chapters 4 through 10 of the report, and much of this information is summarized in the research portfolio discussion in Chapter 13.

Plant and Microbial Biology

Plants and microbes evolved at Earth’s gravity (1 g), and spaceflight represents a completely novel environment for these organisms. Understanding how they respond to these conditions holds great potential for advancing

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
×

knowledge of how life operates on Earth. In addition, plants are important candidates for components of a biologically based life support system for prolonged spaceflight missions, and microbes play complex and essential roles in both positive and negative aspects of human health, in the potential for degradation of the crew environment through fouling of equipment, and in bioprocessing of the wastes of habitation in long-duration missions. The highest-priority research, focusing on these basic and applied aspects of plant and microbial biology, includes:

• Multigenerational studies of International Space Station microbial population dynamics;

• Plant and microbial growth and physiological responses; and

• Roles of microbial and plant systems in long-term life support systems.

Behavior and Mental Health

The unusual environmental, psychological, and social conditions of spaceflight missions limit and define the range of crew activities and trigger mental and behavioral adaptations. The adaptation processes include responses that result in variations in astronauts’ mental and physical health, and strongly stress and affect crew performance, productivity, and well-being. It is important to develop new methods, and to improve current methods, for minimizing psychiatric and sociopsychological costs inherent in spaceflight missions, and to better understand issues related to the selection, training, and in-flight and post-flight support of astronaut crews. The highest-priority research includes:

• Mission-relevant performance measures;

• Long-duration mission simulations;

• Role of genetic, physiological, and psychological factors in resilience to stressors; and

• Team performance factors in isolated autonomous environments.

Animal and Human Biology

Human physiology is altered in both dramatic and subtle ways in the spaceflight environment. Many of these changes profoundly limit the ability of humans to explore space, yet also shed light on fundamental biological mechanisms of medical and scientific interest on Earth. The highest-priority research, focusing on both basic mechanisms and development of countermeasures, includes:

• Studies of bone preservation and bone-loss reversibility factors and countermeasures, including pharmaceutical therapies;

• In-flight animal studies of bone loss and pharmaceutical countermeasures;

• Mechanisms regulating skeletal muscle protein balance and turnover;

• Prototype exercise countermeasures for single and multiple systems;

• Patterns of muscle retrainment following spaceflight;

• Changes in vascular/interstitial pressures during long-duration space missions;

• Effects of prolonged reduced gravity on organism performance, capacity mechanisms, and orthostatic intolerance;

• Screening strategies for subclinical coronary heart disease;

• Aerosol deposition in the lungs of humans and animals in reduced gravity;

• T cell activation and mechanisms of immune system changes during spaceflight;

• Animal studies incorporating immunization challenges in space; and

• Studies of multigenerational functional and structural changes in rodents in space.

Crosscutting Issues for Humans in the Space Environment

Translating knowledge from laboratory discoveries to spaceflight conditions is a two-fold task involving horizontal integration (multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary) and vertical translation (interaction among basic,

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
×

preclinical, and clinical scientists to translate fundamental discoveries into improvements in the health and well-being of crew members during and after their missions). To address the cumulative effect of a range of physiological and behavioral changes, an integrated research approach is warranted. The highest-priority crosscutting research issues include:

• Integrative, multisystem mechanisms of post-landing orthostatic intolerance;

• Countermeasure testing of artificial gravity;

• Decompression effects;

• Food, nutrition, and energy balance in astronauts;

• Continued studies of short- and long-term radiation effects in astronauts and animals;

• Cell studies of radiation toxicity endpoints;

• Gender differences in physiological effects of spaceflight; and

• Biophysical principles of thermal balance.

Fundamental Physical Sciences in Space

The fundamental physical sciences research at NASA has two overarching quests: (1) to discover and explore the laws governing matter, space, and time and (2) to discover and understand the organizing principles of complex systems from which structure and dynamics emerge. Space offers unique conditions in which to address important questions about the fundamental laws of nature, and it allows sensitivity in measurements beyond that of ground-based experiments in many areas. Research areas of highest priority are the following:

• Study of complex fluids and soft matter in the microgravity laboratory;

• Precision measurements of the fundamental forces and symmetries;

• Physics and applications of quantum gases (gases at very low temperatures where quantum effects dominate); and

• Behavior of matter near critical phase transition.

Applied Physical Sciences

Applied physical sciences research, especially in fluid physics, combustion, and materials science, is needed to address design challenges for many key exploration technologies. This research will enable new exploration capabilities and yield new insights into a broad range of physical phenomena in space and on Earth, particularly with regard to improved power generation, propulsion, life support, and safety. Applied physical sciences research topics of particular interest are as follows:

• Reduced-gravity multiphase flows, cryogenics, and heat transfer database development and modeling;

• Interfacial flows and phenomena in exploration systems;

• Dynamic granular material behavior and subsurface geotechnics;

• Strategies and methods for dust mitigation;

• Complex fluid physics in a reduced-gravity environment;

• Fire safety research to improve screening of materials in terms of flammability and fire suppression;

• Combustion processes and modeling;

• Materials synthesis and processing to control microstructures and properties;

• Advanced materials design and development for exploration; and

• Research on processes for in situ resource utilization.

Translation to Space Exploration Systems

The translation of research to space exploration systems includes identification of the technologies that enable exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and elsewhere, as well as the research in life and physical sciences that

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
×

is needed to develop these enabling technologies, processes, and capabilities. The highest-priority research areas to support objectives and operational systems in space exploration include:

• Two-phase flow and thermal management;

• Cryogenic fluid management;

• Mobility, rovers, and robotic systems;

• Dust mitigation systems;

• Radiation protection systems;

• Closed-loop life support systems;

• Thermoregulation technologies;

• Fire safety: materials standards and particle detectors;

• Fire suppression and post-fire strategies;

• Regenerative fuel cells;

• Energy conversion technologies;

• Fission surface power;

• Ascent and descent propulsion technologies;

• Space nuclear propulsion;

• Lunar water and oxygen extraction systems; and

• Planning for surface operations, including in situ resource utilization and surface habitats.

For each of the high-priority research areas identified above, the committee classified the research recommendations as enabling for future space exploration options, enabled by the environment of space that exploration missions will encounter, or both.

Research Portfolio Implementation

While the committee believes that any healthy, integrated program of life and physical sciences research will give consideration to the full set of recommended research areas discussed in this report—and will certainly incorporate the recommendations identified as having the highest priority by the committee and its panels—it fully recognizes that further prioritization and decisions on the relative timing of research support in various areas will be determined by future policy decisions. For example, and only as an illustration, a policy decision to send humans to Mars within the next few decades would elevate the priority of enabling research on dust mitigation systems, whereas a policy decision to focus primarily on advancing fundamental knowledge through the use of space would elevate the priority of critical phase transition studies. The committee therefore provided for future flexibility in the implementation of its recommended portfolio by mapping all of the high-priority research areas against the metrics used to select them. These eight overarching metrics, listed below with clarifying criteria (see also Table 13.3) added in parentheses, can be used as a basis for policy-related ordering of an integrated research portfolio. Examples of how this might be done are provided in the report.

• The extent to which the results of the research will reduce uncertainty about both the benefits and the risks of space exploration (Positive Impact on Exploration Efforts, Improved Access to Data or to Samples, Risk Reduction)

• The extent to which the results of the research will reduce the costs of space exploration (Potential to Enhance Mission Options or to Reduce Mission Costs)

• The extent to which the results of the research may lead to entirely new options for exploration missions (Positive Impact on Exploration Efforts, Improved Access to Data or to Samples)

• The extent to which the results of the research will fully or partially answer grand science challenges that the space environment provides a unique means to address (Relative Impact Within Research Field)

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
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• The extent to which the results of the research are uniquely needed by NASA, as opposed to any other agencies (Needs Unique to NASA Exploration Programs)

• The extent to which the results of the research can be synergistic with other agencies’ needs (Research Programs That Could Be Dual-Use)

• The extent to which the research must use the space environment to achieve useful knowledge (Research Value of Using Reduced-Gravity Environment)

• The extent to which the results of the research could lead to either faster or better solutions to terrestrial problems or to terrestrial economic benefit (Ability to Translate Results to Terrestrial Needs)

Facilities, Platforms, and the International Space Station

Facility and platform requirements are identified for each of the various areas of research discussed in this report. Free-flyers, suborbital spaceflights, parabolic aircraft, and drop towers are all important platforms, each offering unique advantages that might make them the optimal choice for certain experiments. Ground-based laboratory research is critically important in preparing most investigations for eventual flight, and there are some questions that can be addressed primarily through ground research. Eventually, access to lunar and planetary surfaces will make it possible to conduct critical studies in the partial-gravity regime and will enable test bed studies of systems that will have to operate in those environments. These facilities enable studies of the effects of various aspects of the space environment, including reduced gravity, increased radiation, vacuum and planetary atmospheres, and human isolation.

Typically, because of the cost and scarcity of the resource, spaceflight research is part of a continuum of efforts that extend from laboratories and analog environments on the ground, through other low-gravity platforms as needed and available, and eventually into extended-duration flight. Although research on the ISS is only one component of this endeavor, the capabilities provided by the ISS are vital to answering many of the most important research questions detailed in this report. The ISS provides a unique platform for research, and past NRC studies have noted the critical importance of its capabilities to support the goal of long-term human exploration in space. These include the ability to perform experiments of extended duration, access to human subjects, the ability to continually revise experiment parameters based on previous results, the flexibility in experimental design provided by human operators, and the availability of sophisticated experimental facilities with significant power and data resources. The ISS is the only existing and available platform of its kind, and it is essential that its presence and dedication to research for the life and physical sciences be fully utilized in the decade ahead.

With the retirement of the space shuttle program in 2011, it will also be important for NASA to foster interactions with the commercial sector, particularly commercial flight providers, in a manner that addresses research needs, with attention to such issues as control of intellectual property, technology transfer, conflicts of interest, and data integrity.

Science Impact on Defining Space Exploration

Implicit in this report are integrative visions for the science advances necessary to underpin and enable revolutionary systems and bold exploration architectures for human space exploration. Impediments to revitalizing the U.S. space exploration agenda include costs, past inabilities to predict costs and schedule, and uncertainties about mission and crew risk. Research community leaders recognize their obligations to address those impediments. The starting point of much of space-related life sciences research is the reduction of risks to missions and crews. Thus, the recommended life sciences research portfolio centers on an integrated scientific pursuit to reduce the health hazards facing space explorers, while also advancing fundamental scientific discoveries. Similarly, revolutionary

_____________

See, for example, National Research Council, Review of NASA Plans for the International Space Station, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2006.

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
×

and architecture-changing systems will be developed not simply by addressing technological barriers, but also by unlocking the unknowns of the fundamental physical behaviors and processes on which the development and operation of advanced space technologies will depend. This report is thus much more than a catalog of research recommendations; it specifies the scientific resources and tools to help in defining and developing with greater confidence the future of U.S. space exploration and scientific discovery.

Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
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Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
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Suggested Citation:"Summary." National Research Council. 2011. Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13048.
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More than four decades have passed since a human first set foot on the Moon. Great strides have been made in our understanding of what is required to support an enduring human presence in space, as evidenced by progressively more advanced orbiting human outposts, culminating in the current International Space Station (ISS). However, of the more than 500 humans who have so far ventured into space, most have gone only as far as near-Earth orbit, and none have traveled beyond the orbit of the Moon. Achieving humans' further progress into the solar system had proved far more difficult than imagined in the heady days of the Apollo missions, but the potential rewards remain substantial.

During its more than 50-year history, NASA's success in human space exploration has depended on the agency's ability to effectively address a wide range of biomedical, engineering, physical science, and related obstacles—an achievement made possible by NASA's strong and productive commitments to life and physical sciences research for human space exploration, and by its use of human space exploration infrastructures for scientific discovery. The Committee for the Decadal Survey of Biological and Physical Sciences acknowledges the many achievements of NASA, which are all the more remarkable given budgetary challenges and changing directions within the agency. In the past decade, however, a consequence of those challenges has been a life and physical sciences research program that was dramatically reduced in both scale and scope, with the result that the agency is poorly positioned to take full advantage of the scientific opportunities offered by the now fully equipped and staffed ISS laboratory, or to effectively pursue the scientific research needed to support the development of advanced human exploration capabilities.

Although its review has left it deeply concerned about the current state of NASA's life and physical sciences research, the Committee for the Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space is nevertheless convinced that a focused science and engineering program can achieve successes that will bring the space community, the U.S. public, and policymakers to an understanding that we are ready for the next significant phase of human space exploration. The goal of this report is to lay out steps and develop a forward-looking portfolio of research that will provide the basis for recapturing the excitement and value of human spaceflight—thereby enabling the U.S. space program to deliver on new exploration initiatives that serve the nation, excite the public, and place the United States again at the forefront of space exploration for the global good.

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