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10
Planetary Science Research and Infrastructure
NASA planetary missions are the most visible aspect of the agency’s solar system exploration program. While
missions get the lion’s share of the public’s attention, they are supported by an infrastructure and research program
that are vital for mission success. These research activities also generate much of the planetary program’s science
value on their own, independent of individual missions.
Funding for scientific planning and technological development as precursors to missions, for data analysis and
theoretical interpretations during and after each mission’s operational phase, and for data archiving and sample
curation are provided through NASA’s Supporting Research and Analysis (SRA) programs. The central roles of sup-
porting research and related activities at NASA and their relevance to the quality of the space exploration program
have recently been described and analyzed by the NRC Committee on the Role and Scope of Mission-Enabling
Activities in NASA’s Space and Earth Science Mission. The committee strongly supports the recommendations
of that committee’s report.1
Given the importance of the diverse activities sponsored by SRA funding, the report cited above raises a con-
cern regarding the ability of a small staff in the NASA Science Mission Directorate to handle its responsibilities,
suggesting that it is not adequately sized. The committee echoes this concern and, in particular, highlights and
endorses a key finding of the report, which states: “The mission-enabling activities in NASA’s Science Mission
Directorate (SMD)—including support for scientific research and research infrastructure, advanced technology
development, and scientific and technical workforce development—are fundamentally important to NASA and to
the nation” (p. 47).
Table 10.1 summarizes the key findings and recommendations from Chapters 4 through 8 that are related to
planetary science research and infrastructure.
SUPPORTING RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES AT NASA
Planetary spacecraft return data, but these data have value only when they are interpreted. Interpretation of data
requires sophisticated analysis, theoretical investigations, and computer simulations. These activities are supported at
NASA through grants to investigators made by research and analysis programs. Data are archived and distributed to
scientists worldwide by the Planetary Data System. And scientific results are conveyed to the most important stake-
holders in planetary exploration—the taxpayers who funded it and the students who will help assure its future—via
education and public outreach programs. The health of all these SRA programs is vital to planetary exploration.
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TABLE 10.1 Key Research and Infrastructure Findings and Recommendations from Chapters 4 Through 8
Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
The Primitive Bodies The Inner Planets Mars The Giant Planets Satellites
Ground-based Ensure access to Support building — Ensure access to —
telescopes large telescopes for and maintaining large telescopes.
planetary science Earth-based
observations. telescopes.
Maintain the
capabilities of
Goldstone and Arecibo
radar systems.
Laboratory Continue funding of A strong research Vigorous research and Maintain robust —
research/research programs to analyze and analysis analysis programs are programs of
support samples of primitive program is critical. needed to enhance data analysis,
bodies in hand Investigate modeling the development and laboratory work,
and develop next- a cross-disciplinary payoff of missions and and computational
generation instruments program on the to refine the sample development.
for returned samples. existing Mars collection requirements
Climate Modeling and laboratory analysis
Center. techniques needed for
Mars Sample Return.
Data archiving Support the ongoing Continue to evolve — Support the ongoing —
effort to evolve the the Planetary Data effort to evolve
Planetary Data System. System and Deep the Planetary Data
Space Network. System.
Education and — Strengthen efforts to — — —
public outreach archive the results
of past education
and public outreach
efforts.
Research and Analysis Programs
The research related to planetary missions begins well before a mission is formulated and funded, and con-
tinues long after it is over. Research provides the foundation for interpreting data collected by spacecraft, as well
as the guidance and context for identifying new scientifically compelling missions.
Research and analysis programs allow the maximum possible science return to be harvested from missions.
Along with analysis of spacecraft data, the portfolios of research and analysis programs include laboratory experi-
ments, theoretical studies, fieldwork using Earth analogs, planetary geologic mapping, and analysis of data from
Earth-based telescopes. Important examples of supporting laboratory work include characterization of extra -
terrestrial materials and collection of spectroscopic data sets (for more representative coverage of solar system
objects), experimental investigation of the states and behaviors of materials and planetary and space environments,
and analog experiments (e.g., fluid dynamics experiments). Scientific and technical advances derived from these
programs are used to identify important goals for future exploration, determine the most suitable targets for space
missions, and develop and refine the instrumental and analytical techniques needed to support new missions.
Through the direct involvement of students and young investigators, the programs help train future generations of
space scientists and engineers. The recommended missions in Chapter 9 were derived from the key science ques-
tions in Chapter 3, and those questions were informed primarily by the results of the research and analysis programs.
The science return from a mission increases when investigators outside the mission teams synthesize data from
multiple missions, test new theoretical insights, and link observations from different sources in interdisciplinary
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investigations. New interdisciplinary fields, such as planetary climatology and exoplanet studies, are emerging as
a consequence.
The Level of Research and Analysis Support
All of these fields of research are important to NASA’s long-term planetary science goals, and all require
funding. This funding not only leads to the gathering and dissemination of new scientific knowledge but also lays
the groundwork for the future of the field. In particular, the use of NASA SRA funds to support graduate students
and provide early career fellowships for new Ph.D.s is crucial for developing and maintaining the workforce that
will explore the solar system in the coming decades. Historically this burden of funding has fallen almost entirely
on NASA, as it will for the foreseeable future. As noted in the NRC’s Enabling Foundation report cited above,
“In the case of planetary science, NASA is by far the principal sponsor of research, and thus programs supported
by other agencies are not a major factor.”2
Current NASA research and analysis funding in most programs supporting planetary research is distributed
as multiple small grants. An unfortunate and very inefficient aspect of this policy is that researchers must devote
an increasingly large fraction of their time to writing proposals instead of doing science. Over the 7 fiscal years
2003-2009, on average 37 percent of the grant proposals submitted to an average of 18 or 19 programs in NASA’s
Planetary Science Division were supported. The success ratio is lower than desirable, but the negative impact of
the low success rate on the science community is magnified by the small-grant policy; many researchers seeking
support for themselves and/or their students must submit half a dozen proposals each year to make ends meet.
The problem of raising funds is especially challenging for soft money researchers who must find support for
their own salaries as well as for direct research expenses. Numerous previous reports have noted that this effort
is highly inefficient and stressful to the research community. This burden on the community is then compounded
by the substantial and growing further effort required to review all of these proposals. The committee strongly
encourages NASA to find ways (e.g., by merging related research programs and lengthening award periods)
to increase average grant sizes and reduce the number of proposals that must be written, submitted, and
reviewed by the community.
Another clear message from study of the SRA programs is that the number of good ideas for research sur-
passes the funding available to enable that research. More funding for research and analysis would result in more
high-quality science being done. However, recommendations for increased research funding must be tempered
by the realization that NASA’s resources are finite, and that such increases will inevitably cut into funds that are
needed to develop new technologies and fly new missions. An appropriate balance must thus be sought. After
consideration of this balance, and consistent with the mission recommendations and costs presented in Chapter 9,
the committee recommends that NASA increase the research and analysis budget for planetary science
by 5 percent above the total finally approved FY2011 expenditures in the first year of the coming decade,
and increase the budget by 1.5 percent above the inflation level for each successive year of the decade. This
modest increase will allow the scientific benefits of NASA’s planetary missions to be reaped more fully, while still
permitting the vigorous program of planetary missions and related technology development described in Chapters 9
and 11, respectively, to be carried out. In addition, NASA should periodically evaluate the strategic alignment and
funding level of all its SRA programs to ensure that they remain healthy and productive.
Mission Flight Teams
The science return from planetary missions, especially complex ones like flagship missions, is maximized
by effective communication and data sharing among all the scientists involved in the mission. Science teams for
large missions should be put together so that data sharing is built into the mission structure from the outset, and
free access to data among all instrument teams on a mission should be strongly encouraged. Such policies should
be defined in the Announcement of Opportunity so that teams are aware of them and can plan for them from the
start. When science instruments are competed, there should be mechanisms, such as competition after instrument
selection, for interdisciplinary or participating scientists. Such a mechanism will allow the most qualified scientists
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to be part of the mission even if they are not members of a selected instrument team. Particular attention should
be paid to the addition and full participation of younger scientists in long-duration missions.
Theory and Modeling
Theory and modeling play an important and growing role in planetary science. Simulations have strong
visual appeal, can clarify complex processes, and can test hypotheses. Numerical modeling is an essential tool
for extracting information from spacecraft observations by explaining new phenomena. Such modeling must be
based on physical principles, validated with spacecraft data, and, in many cases, must be supported by additional
laboratory measurements. General circulation models (GCMs) for the atmospheres of Mars, Venus, Titan, and the
giant planets are one of the best examples of the interplay between data and theory. These circulation models are
fundamental tools in the study of planetary atmospheric processes. They are also useful as mission planning tools,
for example in predicting the winds that will be encountered by planetary entry probes and landers.
Significant advances in many planetary fields have occurred during the past decade largely due to the avail-
ability of increasing computing power and more sophisticated software, but also because of improved understanding
of physics and chemistry. Examples include the following:
• Improved modeling of planetary accumulation processes and how they relate to the isotopic constraints on
cosmochronology,
• Efforts to relate observable aspects of bodies (e.g., tectonics, volcanism, and magnetic fields) to internal
state and evolution,
• Models for tidal heating and plumes on Enceladus,
• Impact dynamics and the physical processes in small bodies,
• Magnetohydrodynamic models that provide insight into the dynamical responses within the magnetospheres
that envelop Jupiter and Saturn,
• Modeling of orbital histories (e.g., the accumulation of bodies, the delivery of meteoroids, the solar system’s
structure, and a lunar impact origin),
• Identification of chaos (e.g., mean-motion and secular resonances and their overlap) in the solar system,
and
• The inclusion of moist convection and cloud microphysics in atmospheric modeling.
Although many of the processes of interest have Earth analogs and well-developed codes for Earth science
problems, planetary applications often require going far beyond terrestrial experience, and validation of codes in
unusual situations is often needed.
Theoretical development and numerical modeling are crucial for planning future planetary missions, as well
as for maximizing the science return from past and ongoing missions. 3,4 For example, the stability of the jovian
jet streams is a major topic of theoretical research, and it has recently been applied to predict the bulk rotation
rate of Saturn.5 The theory and modeling of two-dimensional turbulence have advanced understanding of spatial
scales of jets and vortices.6 The investigation of hydrogen’s equation of state has a major theoretical component
involving molecular dynamics modeling.7 Detailed modeling of planetary rings requires both analytical and
numerical calculations.8 As scientists plan for new missions to these bodies—such as the various missions evalu-
ated for this decadal survey—they incorporate this work into their plans and requirements.
Research on primitive bodies also depends heavily on theory and modeling in part because the objects are so
diverse and their numbers so vast. Fundamental theoretical investigations and numerical modeling are essential
to the understanding of primitive bodies and the processes through which they evolve. For example, both were
needed to begin to understand how the structure of the Kuiper belt has evolved through time. Both were also needed
to address important processes that cannot be studied directly in the laboratory such as the collisions between
asteroid-size bodies.
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Computing
As mission data sets become larger and more diverse, and as understanding of integrated planetary systems
increases and models become more complex, the computing power required for data analysis and simulation is
growing. Research tasks that require large computational resources include dynamical studies of planet formation,
atmospheric GCMs, planetary interior convection and dynamo models, thermodynamic first-principle calculations
to determine equations of state, simulations of solar wind-magnetosphere interactions, hydrocode simulations of
impacts, and image processing.
Additional funds to maintain and upgrade large, centralized supercomputing facilities at NASA centers will
be required in the coming decade. It is equally important to broaden the access to and to streamline data pipelines
from these facilities to accommodate the exponentially increasing need for data and information. The right bal-
ance must be struck between providing funds for the purchase of powerful computing hardware and funding the
technical staff support needed to utilize these facilities with optimum efficiency.
Complementing the large NASA computational facilities, revolutionary improvements have been made in
recent years in the computing capabilities of servers that are commercially available and accessible to individual
researchers. These advances have enabled substantial cost-effective progress in computations that in the past were
possible only on large supercomputers. Support should be made available to permit acquisition of such computing
facilities by individual principal investigators when appropriate.
Data Distribution and Archiving
Data from space missions remain scientifically valuable long after the demise of the spacecraft that provided
them, but only if they are archived appropriately in a form readily accessible to the community of users and if
the archives are continually maintained for completeness and accuracy. Data curation is particularly critical for
planetary missions, which are infrequent, costly, and often capture temporally unique planetary snapshots. NASA
has for many years recognized its responsibility to archive data from planetary missions and make them widely
available to the research community. The first analysis of newly acquired spacecraft data is often part of the
spacecraft mission budget, but full analysis requires many years of thoughtful work. Some of the most important
advances are often the result of analyses carried out using data archives supported by the SRA program years or
even decades after a mission has ended.
The Planetary Data System (PDS) provides critical data archiving and distribution to the planetary science
community. Over the last 20 years, the PDS has established a systematic protocol for archiving and distributing
mission data that has become the international standard. It is crucial that the capabilities of the Planetary Data
System be maintained by NASA, both to provide a permanent archive of planetary data and to provide a
means of distributing those data to the world at large. It is also essential that newly acquired data continue to
be archived and made accessible to the science community within no more than 6 months following receipt and
validation. For data from ground-based or international partner instruments, contractual agreements should be used
to ensure the timely delivery of such data to the PDS (sometimes within funding agreements from specific support-
ing research and analysis programs). The PDS should also consider developing requirements for data archiving by
small groups that have implemented creative data processing that enhances the value of existing planetary data sets.
High-level data products must be archived along with the low-level products typically produced by instrument
teams. For future missions, Announcements of Opportunity (AOs) should mandate that instrument teams
propose and be funded to generate derived products before missions have completed Phase E. In the interim,
separate support should be provided for development of high-level data products in cases where such support
cannot be provided by mission funding.
Use of the appropriate standards is essential to enable synergistic application of planetary data sets. Over the
past two decades the development of the Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF) at JPL, together
with the evolving standards associated with SPICE kernels—i.e., specific data files containing ancillary infor-
mation relating to the orientation, location, operating mode, and other operating characteristics relevant to how
data from a particular spacecraft instrument was collected—have greatly streamlined and standardized planning,
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acquiring, and archiving information about observations. The NAIF facility and SPICE kernels should continue
to be used, and NASA planetary missions should adopt SPICE as a standard during mission planning, operations,
and archiving. Development of standards for geodetic and cartographic coordinate systems should be encouraged,
and these systems should be documented and archived within a NAIF/SPICE framework.
With expected large increases in data volume during the next 10 years, PDS capabilities will have to expand.
The existing PDS is very much a product of its original decade of creation. The planned PDS upgrade will better
leverage modern databases and web services, creating an online resource that will serve the more complex needs
of modern science user communities. New types of data, such as pertinent laboratory measurements and telescopic
data, could be added where appropriate. Periodic reviews, as already performed, will ensure that the science com-
munities’ needs are met. A balanced SRA program will allow for further development of related public domain
software, such as OLAF (for data ingestion) and ISIS (image manipulation and mosaicking), and a coordinated set
of standards (geodetic, cartographic maps, and other systems). And as planetary exploration continues to become
a more international enterprise, it will be increasingly important for NASA to ensure interoperability of the PDS
with other international repositories of planetary data.
Communicating with the Public: Education and Outreach
The tremendous interest in planets and planetary exploration points to a deeply rooted resonance between the
work done by planetary scientists and the broader public. In its grandest sense, planetary exploration challenges
us all to be curious about the world in which we live. Such curiosity can lead to a greater appreciation of the
role that science in general and planetary science in particular can play in fostering a vigorous and economically
healthy nation.
Defining the Need
Jon Miller, in his paper “Civic Scientific Literacy Across the Life Cycle,” states that only 30 percent of the
U.S. population is scientifically literate.9 This scientific illiteracy extends even to the most basic facts about our
universe. For example, the National Science Board estimates that more than a third of Americans do not understand
that Earth orbits the Sun.10 The United States is losing its scientific and technological competitiveness, a situation
that can be reversed only if science literacy and proficiency become a national priority. 11
The role that science can play in economic development was articulated in the 2007 and 2010 reports Rising
Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future12 and Rising Above
the Gathering Storm, Revised: Rapidly Approaching Category 5.13 These reports argue that the science and technol-
ogy research that powers the U.S. economy is not adequately funded and does not attract as many practitioners as
it does in other countries. The specific recommendations from the 2007 Gathering Storm report can be succinctly
summarized as follows:
• Increase America’s talent pool by vastly improving K-12 science and mathematics education;
• Sustain and strengthen the nation’s commitment to long-term basic research;
• Make the United States the most attractive setting in which to study and perform research; and
• Ensure that the United States remains a leading place in the world to innovate.
Exploration of the planets can play a key role in addressing these challenges, because it is among the most
exciting and accessible of the scientific activities funded by NASA, and indeed by any government agency. NASA’s
planetary program has a special opportunity, and therefore a special responsibility, to reach out to the public.
Planetary exploration research has connections today with many other areas of science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics: geology, chemistry, biology, aerospace engineering, high-performance computing, electrical
engineering and advanced optics, and computer science. By attracting young people to science and technology
careers and providing the kind of education and training that can help solve major societal challenges involving
science and technology, planetary exploration offers a solid return on investment for the United States. Public
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PLANETARY SCIENCE RESEARCH AND INFRASTRUCTURE
interest in the exploration of the solar system translates to opportunities to educate and influence future scientists,
engineers, teachers, policy makers, and the public at large, through classroom instruction or informal education.
In addition, the America COMPETES Act also highlighted three areas of endeavor as having high importance
to the nation; planetary exploration can contribute directly to these areas:
1. To strengthen research investment and to foster innovation and frontier research. Planetary exploration
research is transformative at the most fundamental level, exploring areas as far-reaching as the origin of life, the ori-
gins of the solar system, the evolution of planetary environments, and the search for Earth-like planets in other solar
systems. Planetary exploration can drive innovation in technology such as advanced sensors and data processing.
2. To strengthen educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (and critical
foreign languages). Planetary science has broad public appeal and vibrant ties to other branches of science and
technology, enabling the field to contribute to science education in uniquely powerful ways. Planetary exploration
is also increasingly an international endeavor.
3. To develop a workforce for the 21st century. Planetary exploration can play a central role in raising U.S.
science literacy at all levels from kindergarten through university, and within the general public as well. 14 Many
of the breakthroughs being made in our understanding of the solar system involve close connections with other
fields of science such as geology, geochemistry, and biology, developments that also find increasing application
in our everyday lives.
Education and Outreach Opportunities
Technological advances over the past decade have dramatically changed the nature of public outreach. Nearly
instant public availability of raw images from planetary missions, and global access to planetary data, feed growing
online communities of committed space enthusiasts. Interested members of the public can be informed of dis -
coveries and mission events as they happen through social media. At the same time, the decline of traditional science
journalism, with its ability to synthesize results into a coherent whole and present them to a mass audience, and
the ever-accelerating news cycle, may erode scientific understanding by the public. It is crucial, then, for scientists
themselves to make their work and findings comprehensible, appealing, and available to the public.
The federal government provides significant support for many informal education and outreach activities. In
the past, NASA devoted roughly 1 percent of the cost of major missions to education and public outreach and
created imaginative websites and activities concerning its missions to engage students, teachers, and the public.
Although the funding for education and public outreach by NASA increased from 1996 to 2004, it has leveled
off in the past half decade. Recent National Research Council studies have indicated that for a better return on
the federal investment in education and public outreach, a more rigorous program of assessment is needed of
outcomes and efficacy across the entire spectrum of space science education and public outreach activities. 15 This
is particularly important in the many less formal outreach activities. 16
Much effort is required to transform raw scientific data into materials that inform and appeal to the general
public. NASA planetary science funding is used for education and public outreach activities based on the dis-
coveries of planetary missions. Efforts to integrate effective outreach should be directly embedded within each
planetary mission. The committee strongly endorses NASA’s informal guideline that a minimum of 1 percent
of the cost of each mission be set aside from the project budget for education and public outreach activities.
Modest additional funding must also be set aside to convey to the public the important scientific results from the
longer-term supporting research and analysis programs, and individual scientists should be strongly encouraged
to participate in communicating the results of their research broadly.
The committee also encourages organizing and maintaining NASA’s educational efforts, matched to national
educational standards, through science education and public outreach forums, formal content review, and newly
evolving product databases. Local efforts, in addition to national efforts, can help ensure the compatibility of
scientifically rigorous educational materials with state-by-state curriculum needs. NASA’s efforts leverage the
agency’s expertise and engaging content and have a record of producing innovative curricula for schools and
programs for other venues.17
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NASA INSTRUMENTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Instrument Development
Planetary missions rely heavily on technology. Nowhere is this more true than in the technology for new sci-
entific instrumentation, which can revolutionize the science returned by a mission. Chapter 11 contains an in-depth
discussion of technology development for planetary missions, including new scientific instruments. In particular,
that chapter advocates a dedicated technology funding line that, among other things, will fill the need to develop
new flight instruments to a higher level of technological readiness than has been the norm in the past. NASA’s
Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program (PIDDP) has been very successful in initiating many
new instrument concepts and maturing them to low technology readiness levels (TRLs). The technology program
called for in Chapter 11 will provide the funding to bring the most promising low-TRL instrument concepts to the
point that they can be reliably selected for flight, reducing mission cost and schedule risk.
Each planetary environment is unique, and each instrument flown on a planetary mission must be customized
to some degree for the mission and planetary target. Every future mission will be enabled or enhanced by improve-
ments in instrument miniaturization and advanced electronic component design. Both remote and in situ instruments
will benefit from improved technologies and components. Significant development is needed, in particular, for in
situ instruments for sample selection and handling, age dating, organic detection and characterization, isotopic
identification, and instruments that function in extreme environments of temperature, pressure, and high radiation.
Semi-autonomous sample handing and manipulation pose significant challenges in any environment, and operation
in extreme environments makes it all the more challenging.
The mission studies performed for this decadal survey (Appendix G) resulted in more than 50 specific instru-
ments cited in strawman payloads. These instruments range widely in their design requirements due to the unique
conditions of each target body. Examples of the most commonly mentioned measurements and instrumentation and
selected areas where development or improvements should be supported are summarized in Table 10.2, which is
not intended to be comprehensive, but only representative. All of these instrument types are candidates for future
development under the technology program described in Chapter 11. It is, of course, important for instrument
development funding to be tied to specific future missions and goals.
For further discussion and recommendations regarding instrument development and its role in NASA’s broader
planetary technology development program, see Chapter 11.
NASA Telescope Facilities
Most bodies in the solar system were discovered using telescopes. Utilization of the enormous discovery
potential of telescopes is an essential part of the committee’s integrated strategy for solar system exploration. Major
scientific findings have been made in recent years using Earth-based telescopes. As just one important example,
the discovery of extrasolar planets has had a major impact on researchers’ perceptions of the solar system.
Many spacecraft missions, including ones recommended in this report, are designed to follow up on discoveries
made using telescopes. Recent telescopic observations of Uranus, for example, have demonstrated that the ice giant’s
atmosphere undergoes changes that were not apparent during the Voyager 2 flyby in the 1980s. The Kuiper belt
was revealed in the 1990s as a vast, unexplored, and previously only postulated “third domain” of the solar system
beyond the realms of the terrestrial and giant planets. Even the still-preliminary understanding of the dynamics
of the objects beyond Neptune has led to wide acceptance of the outward migration of Neptune early in the solar
system’s history. And telescopic observations were largely responsible for the reported detection of methane in the
atmosphere of Mars.
Telescopes also help identify targets to which spacecraft missions can be flown. A key example of a “found”
population is that of the near-Earth objects (NEOs), which are now understood to pose a potential impact threat to
Earth, but also to be exploitable for both sample return and as springboards for future human exploration missions.
NEOs are particularly attractive targets for spacecraft missions because many require lower energy trajectories
than do most planetary bodies.
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TABLE 10.2 Commonly Cited Improvements and/or Technology Developments Required in Measurements and
Instrumentation Mentioned in the Mission Studies Performed in Support of This Decadal Survey
Increased
Resolution or Reduction of Radiation Ability to Operate in
Commonly Cited Instrumentation Sensitivity Mass Resistance Extreme Environments
Imaging systems X X X X
Ultraviolet/Visible/Infrared/Raman Spectroscope X X X X
Tunable Laser Spectrometer Spectroscope X X X X
Laser Ranging X X X
Radar/Synthetic Aperture Radar/Interferometric X X X
Synthetic Aperture Radar
Seismometer probes X X X
Heat flow X X X
Radio sounder X X
Mass spectrometer X X X X
Atmospheric sounder X X
Gamma/neutron spectroscope X X
Plasma analyzer X X X
Particles/dust analyzer X X X
Nephelometer X X
Magnetometer X X X
Ultra-stable oscillator X X
Surface sampling and handling tools X X
Subsurface sampling devices X X
Cryogenic handling equipment X X
NOTE: The mission study reports are listed in Appendix G and are available (unedited) on the CD supplied with this report.
Earth-based telescopes also provide ongoing support for spacecraft missions, both before and after the mission.
Particularly effective examples were the global observing campaign that supported the Deep Impact mission to
comet Tempel 1 and the impact of LCROSS on the Moon. And, in a much broader sense, Earth-based observations
provide the context for nearly all mission results. For example, Earth-based studies alone have allowed taxonomic
systems for asteroids and comets to be developed.
Although most government-supported telescope facilities in the United States are funded by the National Sci-
ence Foundation (see below), NASA continues to play a major role in supporting the use of Earth-based optical and
radar telescopes for planetary studies. Subsequent sections discuss ground-based, airborne, and orbital telescopes
that support planetary science using NASA funding.
NASA Infrared Telescope Facility
NASA provides operational support for the 3-meter Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii,
for observational programs with an emphasis on support for planetary and astrophysics space missions. The
planetary science community has special needs for access to ground-based telescope facilities that differ from the
requirements for stellar and extragalactic astronomy. Among these needs are the ability to observe bright targets,
and flexible scheduling for unpredictable or time-dependent phenomena, such as studies of comets, planetary
impacts, Earth-approaching asteroids, and unexpected cloud activity on planets. In addition, many solar system
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targets are frequently observable only at small angular separation from the Sun, requiring capabilities for daylight
and near-horizon observations. At present and in the foreseeable future, the IRTF is the only observatory that is
designed and operated primarily to meet the broad needs of planetary investigations. The IRTF meets the needs of
planetary astronomy through continuing telescope and instrument upgrades (supported also by the NSF), expanded
capabilities for remote observing, and flexible scheduling.
W.M. Keck Observatory
The Keck Observatory, consisting of twin 10-meter telescopes on Mauna Kea, is supported in part by NASA
in partnership with the University of California and the California Institute of Technology. A fraction of Keck
telescope time is allocated specifically for NASA programs, with much of that time devoted to the search for and
study of extrasolar planetary systems. Only a small fraction of the NASA time (e.g., just 5 of the 28 successful
NASA Keck proposals in the first half of 2010) is typically available for use by the broad community of planetary
scientists. NASA Keck time is critical for planetary objects that require high spatial resolution (e.g., Uranus,
Neptune, Titan, and Io) and/or deep sensitivity (e.g., Pluto and Kuiper belt objects). At present, Keck is the only
facility that can provide diffraction-limited adaptive optics imaging on Uranus and Neptune.
Goldstone, Arecibo, and the Very Long Baseline Array
Two existing facilities, the Goldstone Solar System Radar (part of NASA’s Deep Space Network) and the
Arecibo Observatory, are critically important for radar studies of near-Earth objects. The Arecibo Observatory,
with its 305-m antenna and 900-kW transmitter (at 13-cm wavelength), is the most powerful research radar in
the world. The Goldstone facility, with its greater steerability, provides twice the sky coverage and much longer
tracking times than does the Arecibo antenna. In addition to giving the highest achievable spatial resolution, radar
observations offer the unique capability to refine NEO orbital characteristics (and hence the probability of NEO
impact on Earth) to high precision; a single radar detection improves the instantaneous positional uncertainty by
orders of magnitude in comparison with an orbit determined only by optical methods. The Goldstone and Arecibo
radars have also made important observations of Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars, the satellites of Jupiter, and
the satellites and rings of Saturn.
The Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) is a network of radio telescopes spread from Hawaii to the Virgin
Islands and operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The VLBA is able to determine spacecraft
positions to high accuracy, which allows refinement of planetary ephemerides. It also has assisted in tracking probe
release and descent (Cassini’s Huygens probe is an example).
Ground-based facilities that receive NASA support, including the Infrared Telescope Facility, the Keck
Observatory, Goldstone, Arecibo, and the Very Long Baseline Array, all make important and in some cases
unique contributions to planetary science. NASA should continue to provide support for the planetary
observations that take place at these facilities.
Suborbital Telescopes
Balloon- and rocket-borne telescopes offer a cost-effective means of studying distant planets and satellites at
ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths inaccessible from the ground. Because of their modest costs and development
times, they also provide training opportunities for would-be developers of future spacecraft instruments. 18 NASA’s
Science Mission Directorate regularly flies balloon missions into the stratosphere that carry payloads funded via
research and analysis programs. However, there are few funding opportunities to take advantage of this resource
for planetary science, because typical planetary SRA awards are too small to support these missions. A funding
line to promote further use of suborbital observing platforms for planetary observations would complement
and reduce the load on the already oversubscribed planetary astronomy program.
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Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a NASA facility consisting of a 2.7-meter
telescope mounted in a modified Boeing 747-SP aircraft that began science flights in mid-2010. Operations costs
and observing time are shared by the United States (80 percent) and Germany (20 percent). Flying at altitudes up to
13.5 km, SOFIA observes from above more than 99 percent of the water vapor in the atmosphere, opening windows
in the infrared spectrum that are unavailable to ground-based telescopes. SOFIA also provides opportunities for
rapid response to time-dependent astronomical phenomena (e.g., comets and planetary impacts) and geography-
dependent phenomena (e.g., stellar occultations). Solar system studies are one of the four primary science themes
(together with star and planet formation, the interstellar medium, and galaxies and the galactic center) to which
SOFIA’s observing time is dedicated.19
Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble observations are crucial for research on the giant planets (especially Uranus and Neptune) and their
satellites, and for planning future missions to these systems. Hubble’s ultraviolet capability has been critical for
studies of auroral activity on the gas giants, discovery of the atmospheres of Ganymede and Europa, and inves-
tigations of the plumes and atmosphere of Io. During the past decade, Hubble was also used to discover two
additional moons (Nix and Hydra) around Pluto, and two additional moons (Cupid and Mab) and two new rings
around Uranus. Hubble, although recently serviced, has a finite lifetime and will eventually be de-orbited, and no
replacement space telescope with equivalent ultraviolet capability is currently planned.
James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be a 6.5-meter infrared-optimized telescope placed at the
Sun-Earth L2 point. It is currently scheduled for launch no earlier than 2018. JWST will provide unprecedented
sensitivity and stability for near- and mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy, especially at wavelengths blocked
by Earth’s atmosphere. JWST will contribute to planetary science in numerous ways, including diffraction-limited
imaging (in the near infrared) of both large and small bodies difficult to match with existing ground-based facili-
ties, spectroscopy of the deep atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune, planetary auroral studies with high spatial
resolution, and observations of transient phenomena (storms and impact-generated events) in the atmospheres of
the giant planets. JWST will overlap with several planetary missions, offering unique complementary and supple-
mentary observations, and can extend studies of Titan beyond the 2017 end of the Cassini mission. The ability to
track moving targets—a necessity for planetary observations—is currently being implemented. JWST’s Science
Working Group is planning many types of solar system observations, including imaging and spectra of Kuiper belt
objects and comets, as well as Uranus and Neptune and their satellites and ring systems. Work is currently being
done to assess the feasibility of observations of the brighter planets such as Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
Near-Earth-Object Surveys
The discovery, characterization, and hazard mitigation of NEOs called for in the 2005 NASA Authorization
Act are treated in a recent NRC study.20 This section focuses on instrumentation and infrastructure needed for
scientific surveys of NEOs. Discussion of hazard mitigation is beyond the scope of this decadal survey.
Earth-based telescopic observations probe the shapes, sizes, mineral compositions, orbital and rotational
attributes, and physical properties of NEOs. These data are used in defining the science goals and operational
constraints for spacecraft missions to specific asteroids, and are critical for extrapolating what is learned from
the limited number of asteroid missions that will be possible to broader populations of small bodies. The Arecibo
Observatory and the Goldstone facility are critical to refining NEO orbital and physical characteristics. New opti-
cal facilities, such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid-
Response System (Pan-STARRS), can dramatically increase scientific understanding of NEOs by expanding the
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catalog of known objects and their orbits, thus providing better population statistics and improved predictions for
close passages by Earth.
Perhaps the greatest advance in characterizing NEOs will come from spacecraft missions that analyze them
from orbit and/or return samples to Earth where sophisticated laboratory techniques can be brought to bear. The
committee commissioned a technology study on the accessibility of NEOs by spacecraft using solar-electric
propulsion (Chapter 4). With sufficient technology development such missions might be conducted within the
Discovery program, and there are intriguing possibilities for human missions to NEOs supported by NASA’s
Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD). Instruments (mapping cameras and spectrometers) for orbital
characterization are already developed, but sampling instruments, especially for accessing the subsurface, require
development.
The Deep Space Network
The Deep Space Network (DSN) is a critical element of NASA’s solar system exploration program. It is the
only asset available for communications with missions to the outer solar system, and it is heavily subscribed by
inner solar system missions as well. As instruments advance and larger data streams are expected over the coming
decade, this capability must keep pace with the needs of the mission portfolio. In addition, future capabilities
afforded by optical communication, transponder advances, advanced software, and other means may provide future
increases in returned data volumes and will be important to meeting mission demands.
The DSN is composed of three stations located in Goldstone, California, Madrid, Spain, and Canberra,
Australia, along with operations control and other services in the United States. Each station has one 70-meter
antenna, one 34-meter high-efficiency antenna, and at least one 34-meter beam wave guide antenna. There is an
additional beam wave guide antenna at Madrid and two more at Goldstone. These antennas support more than three
dozen missions with downlink and uplink capabilities in S-band, X-band, and Ka-bands (limited). Collectively,
these stations can provide nearly continuous full-sky coverage.
The 70-meter dishes are in high demand, particularly during critical events, because of their downlink capa-
bility, sensitivity, and ability to satisfy other mission requirements. As such, they are heavily oversubscribed, and
current deep-space missions are limited mostly by downlink rather than onboard storage capacity. For example,
the Cassini mission routinely must choose which data to play back, because the capacity of its solid-state recorder
exceeds what can be played back to Earth within allocated passes (Table 10.3). The DSN must also contend with
aging infrastructure, particularly the 70-meter antennas that were constructed in the 1960s. Nonetheless, the DSN
continues to perform extraordinarily well, returning data with a very low drop-out rate and achieving command
and telemetry availabilities of better than 95 percent to most operating missions.
The DSN’s current budget supports expansion of Ka-band downlink capability, and addition of two 34-meter
beam wave guide antennas at Canberra and one at Madrid by 2018. The longer-term configuration goal through
the end of the decade includes plans for one more 34-meter beam wave guide antenna at each station by 2023 to
nearly mimic the capability of a 70-meter antenna, while keeping the 70-meter antennas operational for as long as
possible. In addition, there are plans for higher-power spacecraft transmitters, development of a Universal Space
Transponder, and increases in on-board data compression and selection coding techniques.
Future demands on the DSN will be substantial. There is an ever-growing need for downlink capacity. Sophis-
ticated next-generation instruments can generate terabits of data, or more, in short time periods. With advances
in, for example, LIDAR, synthetic aperture radar, and hyperspectral imaging, missions will require Ka-band, and
higher, transmission rates to handle these data, even with improvements in on-board data processing.
Solar system exploration also requires either 70-meter antennas or equivalent arrays to achieve the sensitivity
needed for distant outer solar system missions, such as to the inner Kuiper belt. In addition, critical event moni-
toring and other operations of missions to closer bodies also require the high sensitivity and downlink margin of
larger apertures.
The DSN must be able to receive data from more than one mission at one station simultaneously. If new arrays
can only mimic the ability of one 70-meter station and nothing more, missions will still be downlink-constrained
and will have to compete against one another for limited downlink resources.
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TABLE 10.3 Typical Data Volumes for Some Current and Future Planetary Missions Using Different Deep
Space Network Antennas and Communication Bands
Typical Data Volume (gigabit/8-hour pass)
New Horizonsf
Maximum
Data Rate (kbps)a MROb JEOc Cassinid Uranuse
Antenna Band at Pluto
115 1 0.001
34-m X 8,400-8,500 — —
86g 4 0.2
Ka 31,800-32,300 — —
0.003
70-m X 8,400-8,500 173 — 4 —
0.9
800h
Ka 31,800-32,300 — —
or array 18
NOTE: Bold text denotes downlink-limited cases, and italic text denotes theoretical capability.
a Actual downlink rate depends on spacecraft transmitter power, high-gain antenna size/gain, distance, DSN elevation, weather.
b MRO has 35 W Ka-band and 100-W X-band transmitters, 3-m high-gain antenna, 160-Gbit storage.
c JEO assumes 25-W X- and Ka-band transmitters, 3-m high-gain antenna, 17-Gbit storage.
d Cassini has 20-W X-band transmitter, 3-m high-gain antenna, 4-Gbit storage.
e Uranus Orbiter and Probe assumes 40-W Ka-band transmitters, 2.5-m high gain antenna, 32-Gbit storage.
f New Horizons has 12-W X-band transmitter, 2.1-m high-gain antenna, 132-Gbit storage.
g Non-optimal test case.
h Best case.
Although Ka-band downlink has a clear capacity advantage, there is a need to maintain multiple-band down-
link capability. For example, three-band telemetry during outer planet atmospheric occultations allows sounding
of different pressure depths within the atmosphere. In addition, S-band capacity is required for communications
from Venus during probe, balloon, lander, and orbit insertion operations because communications in other bands
cannot penetrate the atmosphere. X-band capability is required for communication through the atmosphere of
Titan, and also for emergency spacecraft communications. Finally, the DSN is crucial for precision spacecraft
ranging and navigation, and this capability must be maintained.
The committee recommends that all three Deep Space Network complexes should maintain high power
uplink capability in the X-band and the Ka-band, and downlink capability in the S-, Ka-, and X-bands.
NASA should expand DSN capacities to meet the navigation and communication requirements of missions
recommended by this decadal survey, with adequate margins.
Sample Curation and Laboratory Facilities
Planetary samples are arguably some of the most precious materials on Earth. Just as data returned from plan-
etary spacecraft must be carefully archived and distributed to investigators, so must samples brought at great cost to
Earth from space be curated and kept uncontaminated and safe for continued study. Samples are a “gift that keeps
on giving,” yielding discoveries long after they have been collected and returned. Even today, scientists are using
new, state-of-the-art laboratory instruments to discover more about lunar samples collected during the Apollo pro-
gram four decades ago. NASA rightly takes responsibility for the curation and distribution of planetary materials.
Collections of extraterrestrial materials are composed of:
• Samples that are delivered naturally to Earth in the form of meteorites and interplanetary dust particles, and
• Samples collected by spacecraft missions and returned to Earth for study.
Recent sample return missions include Genesis, which collected samples of the solar wind, and Stardust, which
collected cometary material as it flew through the coma of Comet Wild 2. These missions continue a legacy of sample
return that includes the robotic Luna and the human Apollo missions to the Moon. Currently, two sample return
missions are under Phase-A study for NASA’s New Frontiers program: OSIRIS-REx as a sample return mission to
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Near-Earth Asteroid 1999 RQ36, and MoonRise as a sample return mission to the South Pole-Aitken Basin region of
the Moon.21 The missions recommended in Chapter 9 also include return of samples from a comet nucleus and Mars.
In the decade 2013-2022, then, requirements for sample curation will rapidly grow to become of highest priority.
Samples to be returned to Earth from many planetary bodies (e.g., the Moon, asteroids, and comets) are given
a planetary protection designation of “Unrestricted Earth Return” because they are not regarded as posing any
biohazard to Earth. However, future sample return missions from Mars and other targets that might potentially
harbor life (e.g., Europa and Enceladus) are classified as “Restricted Earth Return” and are subject to quarantine
restrictions, requiring special receiving and curation facilities that can preserve the pristine nature of the returned
materials and prevent potential contamination of Earth. Such a Mars Returned-Sample Handling (MRSH) facility
has been discussed in detail for Mars Sample Return,22,23,24 and would also need to be considered for return from
other targets that are classified as Restricted Earth Return.
Consistent with past recommendations in the reports cited above, an MRSH facility for Restricted Earth Return
samples would provide the following:
• Biohazard assessment (following established protocols for life detection);
• Sterilization of samples for potential early release; and
• Release from containment of samples deemed to be safe, and transfer to appropriate curation facilities.
Current biohazard facilities focus predominantly on sample containment, and so existing biocontainment
facilities would not be optimal for receiving extraterrestrial materials and characterizing the hazards associated
with them. Nonetheless, it is a good policy, when appropriate, to use existing capabilities to reduce cost and risk,
while maintaining the required safety requirements. A coordinated approach to all potentially hazardous returned
samples is needed that leverages the considerable expertise within NASA and the scientific community in work-
ing with extraterrestrial samples. As plans move forward for Restricted Earth Return missions, including Mars
sample return, NASA should establish a single advisory group to provide input on all aspects of collection,
containment, characterization and hazard assessment, and allocation of such samples. This advisory group
must have an international component.
The major site for curation and distribution of extraterrestrial samples within the United States is the
Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office (AACO) of the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science
division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The AACO oversees the preparation and allocation of samples for
research and education, initial characterization of new samples, and secure preservation for the benefit of future
generations. Decisions about sample allocation are performed under the guidance of the Curation and Analysis
Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials (CAPTEM) and the Meteorite Working Group (MWG), both supported
through the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Currently, the Johnson Space Center’s AACO has separate laboratories
that support curation and distribution of Apollo lunar samples, Antarctic meteorites, Stardust cometary materials,
Genesis solar wind samples, cosmic dust collected in upper atmosphere flights, and space-exposed hardware. Plans
are in place for a new asteroid laboratory if OSIRIS-REx is selected as the next New Frontiers mission, and for
expansion of the lunar laboratory if MoonRise is selected.25
Sample curation facilities are critical components of any sample return mission and must be designed spe-
cifically for the types of returned materials and handling requirements. Early planning and adequate funding are
needed early in the mission cycle so that an adequate facility is available once samples are returned and deemed
ready for curation and distribution. Particular challenges for the future include cryogenic handling of materials
from comets, asteroids, the icy satellites, and the frigid depths of unlit craters on the Moon and Mercury, as well
as biocontainment of samples from Mars and other targets of biological interest. Every sample return mission
flown by NASA should explicitly include in the estimate of its cost to the agency the full costs required for
appropriate initial sample curation. The cost estimates for sample return missions recommended in Chapter 9
of this report include these curation costs.
The most important instruments for any sample return mission are the ones in the laboratories on Earth. To
derive the full science return from sample return missions, it is critical to maintain technical and instrumental
capabilities for initial sample characterization, as well as foster expansion to encompass appropriate new analytical
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instrumentation as it becomes available and as different sample types are acquired. It is equally crucial for NASA
to maintain technical and instrumental capability in the sample science community. The development of new labo-
ratory instrumentation is just as important for sample return missions as is development of new spacecraft instru-
ments for other planetary missions. Well before planetary missions return samples, NASA should establish a
well-coordinated and integrated program for development of the next generation of laboratory instruments
to be used in sample characterization and analysis.
SUPPORTING RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES AT NSF
The National Science Foundation’s principal support for planetary science is provided by the Division of Astro-
nomical Sciences in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences. The Astronomy and Astrophysics
Research Grants (AAG) program, for example, provides individual investigator and collaborative research grants for
observational, theoretical, laboratory, and archival data studies in all areas of astronomy and astrophysics, including
planetary astronomy. Planetary astronomy themes include planetary interiors, surfaces, and atmospheres, planetary
satellites, comets and asteroids, trans-Neptune objects, the interplanetary medium, and the origin and evolution of
the solar system. Typical awards range from $95,000 to $125,000 per year for a nominal 3-year period. The focus
of the program is scientific merit with a broad impact and the potential for transformative research. Planetary sci-
entists can also be supported directly through various career programs. NSF also provides peer-reviewed access to
telescopes at public facilities. In short, NSF supports nearly all areas of planetary science except space missions,
which it supports indirectly through laboratory research and archived data.
Further contributions to planetary science are realized through investigator grants in the Directorate for
Geosciences, and by NSF support of major observatory facilities that are open to planetary scientists, Antarctic
meteorite collection and curation, and the study of Antarctic geomorphic analogs to ancient Mars.
NSF grants and support for field activities are an important source of support for planetary science in
the United States and should continue.
NSF INSTRUMENTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Ground-Based Astronomical Facilities
Importantly, the NSF is the largest federal funding agency for ground-based astronomy in the United States,
supporting five national observatories:
• The National Optical Astronomy Observatory,
• The Gemini Observatory,
• The National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center,
• The National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and
• The National Solar Observatory.
These facilities are collectively known as the National Observatories.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory
The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) operates two 4-meter and other smaller telescopes at
the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. NOAO
plays a valuable role within the optical-infrared astronomical system. It provides merit-based access to the tele-
scopes directly under NOAO management, it administers the Telescope System Instrumentation Program (see the
section “Public-Private Partnerships” below) and other merit-based funds for access to a broader range of apertures
and instruments operated by other institutions, and it serves as a community advocate and facilitator for LSST (see
below) and an eventual U.S. role in extremely large telescopes.
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Gemini Observatory
The Gemini Observatory operates two 8-meter optical telescopes, one in the Southern and one in the North-
ern Hemisphere in an international partnership. These telescopes and their associated instrumentation, including
adaptive optics and spectroscopy in the near- and mid-infrared, are very important for planetary studies. Gemini’s
diffraction-limited mid-infrared imaging capability is particularly so. The Gemini international partnership agree-
ment is currently under renegotiation, and the United Kingdom, which holds a 25 percent stake, has announced its
intent to withdraw from the consortium in 2012. This eventuality would provide a good opportunity for increasing
the U.S. share of Gemini, and also presents an opportunity for restructuring the complex governance and manage-
ment structure.26 The Gemini partnership might consider the advantages of stronger scientific coordination with
NASA mission planning needs.
The National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center
The National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center operates the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. As noted
in the preceding discussion of observatories that receive some NASA support, Arecibo is a unique and important
radar facility that plays a particularly important role in NEO studies.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) operates the Very Large Array (VLA), the Very Long
Baseline Array, and the Green Bank Telescope (GBT), and also supports the Atacama Large Millimeter Array
(ALMA). In the microwave and submillimeter wavelength regions, the two ground-based facilities ALMA and the
Expanded VLA are of great importance to future planetary exploration. When the VLA expansion is completed
later in this decade it will produce high-fidelity, wide-band imaging of the planets across the microwave spectrum.
The VLA, with its full suite of X- and Ka-band receivers, also provides a back-up downlink location to the DSN—
Cassini, for example, has recently been successfully tracked with the VLA at the Ka-band. ALMA, expected to
come online this next decade, will provide unprecedented imaging in the relatively unexplored wavelength region
of 0.3 mm to 3.6 mm (84 GHz to 950 GHz). ALMA will also yield an angular resolution of 0.1” and brightness
accuracies to 0.1 percent of the peak image brightness.
The National Solar Observatory
The National Solar Observatory (NSO) operates telescopes on Kitt Peak and Sacramento Peak, New Mexico,
and six worldwide Global Oscillations Network Group (GONG) stations. Understanding the Sun is critical to
understanding its relationship to planetary atmospheres and surfaces. The 2010 astronomy and astrophysics decadal
survey report provides a comprehensive discussion of current and planned solar facilities. 27 The committee notes
that national ground-based solar facilities will be transformed when the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope
becomes operational in 2017. Solar ground-based observations from optical to radio wavelengths are increasingly
complemented by extensive probing at optical and ultraviolet wavelengths from spacecraft like SOHO, TRACE,
STEREO, and Solar Dynamics Observatory. Advances in solar physics over the next decade will likely expand in
areas that directly involve solar effects on Earth and other planets. The committee endorses and echoes the 2010
astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey report’s recommendation that “NSF should work with the solar,
heliospheric, stellar, planetary, and geospace communities to determine the best route to an effective and
balanced ground-based solar astronomy program that maintains multidisciplinary ties.” 28
Public-Private Partnerships
Many important advances in planetary research have come from access to private facilities such as the Keck,
Magellan, and MMT observatories via NSF’s Telescope System Instrumentation Program (TSIP). This program
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provides funding to develop new instruments that enhance the scientific capability of telescopes operated by private
(non-federally funded) observatories, in exchange for public access to those facilities. For example, in 2007 Uranus
ring-plane crossing observational work was supported at Keck via NOAO/TSIP time. The highly successful NSF
TSIP program should continue with full support. The development of instrumentation that addresses the needs of
the planetary community, such as low mass and power, high spatial resolution and sensitivity, and mid-infrared
capability, are particularly encouraged.
Conclusions
The committee supports the National Observatories’ ongoing efforts to provide public access to its
system of observational facilities, and encourages the National Observatories to recognize the synergy
between ground-based observations and in situ planetary measurements, perhaps through coordinated
observing campaigns on mission targets.
The ground-based observational facilities supported wholly or in part by NSF are essential to planetary
astronomical observations, both in support of active space missions and in studies independent of (or as
follow-up to) such missions. Their continued support is critical to the advancement of planetary science.
Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
One of the future NSF-funded facilities most important to planetary science is the Large Synoptic Survey
Telescope (LSST), a 6.5-meter wide-field survey telescope that will image the entire sky visible from its observing
site in Chile in six wavebands some 1,000 times in a period of 10 years. 29 LSST will discover many small bodies
in the solar system, some of which will require follow-up observations for the study of their physical properties.
Some of these bodies are likely to be attractive candidates for future spacecraft missions. The potential for find-
ing new populations of small bodies that are currently unknown but that will further illuminate the dynamical
history of the solar system is especially exciting. LSST will play a potentially critical role in completing the
so-called George E. Brown Survey of all near-Earth asteroids down to a diameter of 140 meters (mandated by
the Congress), especially in the absence of a space-based infrared survey telescope optimized for this purpose.
The nominal schedule for LSST calls for a 2-year commissioning phase starting in mid-2016 and the beginning
of the 10-year operational phase in mid-2018. The committee encourages the timely completion of LSST and
stresses the importance of its contributions to planetary science, as well as astrophysics, once telescope
operations begin.
Extremely Large Telescopes
With apertures of 30 meters and larger, extremely large telescopes (ELTs) will play a significant future role
in planetary science. Among the advantages of such telescopes is improved spatial resolution at mid-infrared and
longer wavelengths where planetary observations are impaired by the diffraction limit; even 8- to 10-meter telescopes
have difficulty with the small angular sizes of Uranus and Neptune. Observations using a 30-meter telescope could,
for example, resolve thermal emission from Neptune with about the same resolution as the 3-meter IRTF can for
Saturn at the same wavelength, and give compositional information on a large number of trans-Neptune objects.
International efforts for ELT development are proceeding rapidly, with at least three such telescopes in the planning
stages: the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT), and the European Extremely Large
Telescope. The committee does not provide specific guidance to NSF on this issue. It endorses the recommen-
dations and support for these facilities made by the 2010 astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey and
encourages NSF to continue to invest in the development of ELTs, and to seek partnerships to ensure that at
least one such facility comes to fruition with provisions for some public access. The committee believes that
it is essential that the design of ELTs accommodate the requirements of planetary science to acquire and
observe targets that are moving, extended, and/or bright, and that the needs of planetary mission planning be
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considered in awarding and scheduling public time for ELTs. The earliest possible date NSF can seek approval
from the National Science Board to provide partial support to either the GMT or the TMT project is 2014.
Small Telescopes
Small telescopes are also very useful for some solar system problems; amateurs with their personal telescopes
are playing an increasing role in laying groundwork for professionals. The 2009 and 2010 Jupiter impacts were dis-
covered by amateurs who alerted the professional community, and within hours of each event, observatory telescopes
around the world were being mobilized for follow-up observations. Likewise, monitoring of Uranus and Neptune
for anomalous cloud activity is solidly within the capabilities of amateurs. Amateurs play an increasing role in the
study of asteroids, both through photometric monitoring and occultations, as well as observing fast-moving near-
Earth objects for orbit determinations. NSF support for modest investments in small observing facilities, such as
equipment or filter sets for modest telescopes operated on university campuses or by amateur astronomers, would
enhance the current synergy with professionals.
Laboratory Studies and Facilities for Planetary Science
To maximize the science return from NSF-funded ground-based observations and NASA space missions
alike, materials and processes must be studied in the laboratory. Needed support for planetary science activities
includes the development of large spectroscopic databases for gases and solids over a wide range of wavelengths,
including derivation of optical constants for solid materials, laboratory simulations of the physics and chemistry of
aerosols, and measurements of thermophysical properties of planetary materials. Planetary science intersects with
many areas of astrophysics that receive NSF funding for laboratory investigations. Although laboratory research
costs a fraction of the cost of missions, in most areas it receives insufficient support, with the result that existing
infrastructure is often not state of the art and required upgrades cannot be made. NSF can make a huge impact on
planetary science by supporting this vital area of research. The committee recommends expansion of NSF fund-
ing for the support of planetary science in existing laboratories, and the establishment of new laboratories
as needs develop. Areas of high priority for support include the following:
• Development and maintenance of spectral reference libraries for atmospheric and surface composition
studies, extending from x-ray to millimeter wavelengths. Studies should specifically include ices and organics and
their modification through bombardment by charged particles typical of planetary magnetospheres, as well as the
interfaces among atmospheric, surface, and subsurface phases.
• Laboratory measurements of thermophysical properties of materials over the range of conditions relevant
to planetary objects, including phase diagrams in high-pressure and low-temperature regimes, equations of state
relevant to the interiors of the giant planets, rheological properties, photochemistry, and energy-dependent radia-
tion chemistry.
• Investment in laboratory infrastructure and support for laboratory spectroscopy (experimental and theo-
retical), perhaps through a network of general-user laboratory facilities.
• Investigations of the physics and chemistry of aerosols in planetary atmospheres through laboratory
simulations.
The ties between planetary science and laboratory astrophysics will continue to strengthen and draw closer
with the expanding exploration of exoplanets and the development of techniques to study their physical-chemical
properties.
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NOTES AND REFERENCES
1 . National Research Council. 2010. An Enabling Foundation for NASA’s Space and Earth Science Missions. The National
Academies Press, Washington, D.C.
2 . National Research Council. 2010. An Enabling Foundation for NASA’s Space and Earth Science Missions . The National
Academies Press, Washington, D.C., p. 22.
3 . W.B. McKinnon. 2009. Exploration Strategy for the Outer Planets 2013-2022: Goals and Priorities. White paper sub -
mitted to the Planetary Science Decadal Survey, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.
4 . M.S. Tiscareno. 2009. Rings Research in the Next Decade. White paper submitted to the Planetary Science Decadal
Survey, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.
5 . P.L. Read, T.E. Dowling, and G. Schubert. 2009. Saturn’s rotation period from its atmospheric planetary-wave configura -
tion. Nature 460:608-610.
6 . A.R. Vasavada and A.P. Showman. 2005. Jovian atmospheric dynamics: An update after Galileo and Cassini. Reports on
Progress in Physics 68:1935-1996.
7 . M.A. Morales, E. Schwegler, D. Ceperley, C. Pierleoni, S. Hamel, and K. Caspersen. 2009. Phase separation in hydrogen-
helium mixtures at Mbar pressures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106:1324.
8 . See, for example, J. Schmidt, K. Ohtsuki, N. Rappaport, H. Salo, and F. Spahn, Dynamics of Saturn’s dense rings,
pp. 413-458 in Saturn from Cassini-Huygens (M.K. Dougherty, L.W. Esposito, and S.M. Krimigis, eds.), Springer,
Heidelberg, Germany, 2009.
9 . J.D. Miller. 2007. Civic Scientific Literacy across the Life Cycle, paper presented at the annual meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, San Francisco, California, February 17.
10 . National Science Board. 2006. Science and Engineering Indicators 2006. National Science Foundation, Arlington, Va.
Available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/pdf/volume1.pdf.
11 . National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine. 2007. Rising Above the
Gathering Storm Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. The National Academies Press,
Washington, D.C.
12 . National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine. 2007. Rising Above the
Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. The National Academies Press,
Washington, D.C.
13 . National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine. 2010. Rising Above the
Gathering Storm, Revised: Rapidly Approaching Category 5. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.
14 . Education in STEM as important areas of competency is emphasized in, for example, the America COMPETES Act (H.R.
2272), initiatives within the U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation, and in Rising Above the
Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future, a report of the National Academy
of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine (The National Academies Press, Washington,
D.C., 2007).
15 . National Research Council. 2008. NASA’s Elementary and Secondary Education Program: Review and Critique. The
National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.
16 . As highlighted in National Research Council, Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits
(P. Bell, B. Lewenstein, A.W. Shouse, and M.A. Feder, eds.), The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2009.
17 . The most recent assessment of NASA’s Education programs by the Office of Management and Budget was rated
“moderately effective”; available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/expectmore/agency/026.html.
18 . For more details concerning NASA’s suborbital program see, for example, National Research Council, Revitalizing NASA’s
Suborbital Program: Advancing Science, Driving Innovation, and Developing a Workforce, The National Academies Press,
Washington, D.C., 2010.
19 . NASA. 2009. The Science Vision for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. NASA Ames Research Center,
Moffett Field, Calif.
20 . National Research Council. 2010. Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth-Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies.
The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.
21 . On May 25, 2011, following the completion of this report, NASA selected the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample-return
spacecraft as the third New Frontiers mission. Launch is scheduled for 2016.
22 . D.W. Beaty, C.C. Allen, D.S. Bass, K.L. Buxbaum, J.K. Campbell, D.J. Lindstrom, S.L. Miller, and D.A. Papanastassiou.
2009. Planning considerations for a Mars sample receiving facility: Summary and interpretation of three design studies.
Astrobiology 9:745-758.
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302 VISION AND VOYAGES FOR PLANETARY SCIENCE
23 . National Research Council. 2002. The Quarantine and Certification of Martian Samples. National Academy Press,
Washington, D.C.
24 . National Research Council. 2007. An Astrobiology Strategy for the Exploration of Mars. The National Academies Press,
Washington, D.C.
25 . On May 25, 2011, following the completion of this report, NASA selected the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample-return
spacecraft as the third New Frontiers mission. Launch is scheduled for 2016.
26 . For additional details concerning Gemini and recommendations for its future, see, for example, National Research
Council, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.,
2010, pp. 177-179.
27 . National Research Council. 2010. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics. The National Academies
Press, Washington, D.C.
28 . National Research Council. 2010. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics. The National Academies
Press, Washington, D.C., p. 34.
29 . For additional information about and recommendations concerning the LSST, see, for example, National Research
Council, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.,
2010, pp. 224-225.
