Assessment of a Plan for
U.S. Participation in Euclid
Committee on the Assessment of a Plan for U.S. Participation in Euclid
Space Studies Board
Board on Physics and Astronomy
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
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OTHER RECENT REPORTS OF THE SPACE STUDIES BOARD AND THE BOARD ON PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
Assessment of Impediments to Interagency Collaboration on Space and Earth Science Missions (Space Studies Board [SSB], 2011)
An Assessment of the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory [prepublication] (Board on Physics and Astronomy [BPA], 2011)
Panel Reports—New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics (BPA and SSB, 2011)
Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era (SSB, 2011)
Report of the Panel on Implementing Recommendations from the New Worlds, New Horizons Decadal Survey [prepublication] (BPA and SSB, 2011)
Sharing the Adventure with the Public—The Value and Excitement of “Grand Questions” of Space Science and Exploration: Summary of a Workshop (SSB, 2011)
Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022 (SSB, 2011)
Capabilities for the Future: An Assessment of NASA Laboratories for Basic Research (Laboratory Assessments Board with SSB and the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board [ASEB], 2010)
Controlling Cost Growth of NASA Earth and Space Science Missions (SSB, 2010)
Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth-Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies: Final Report (SSB with ASEB, 2010)
An Enabling Foundation for NASA’s Space and Earth Science Missions (SSB, 2010)
Forging the Future of Space Science: The Next 50 Years (SSB, 2010)
Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era of Space Exploration: An Interim Report (SSB with ASEB, 2010)
New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics (BPA and SSB, 2010)
Research at the Intersection of the Physical and Life Sciences (BPA, 2010)
Revitalizing NASA’s Suborbital Program: Advancing Science, Driving Innovation, and Developing a Workforce (SSB, 2010)
Selling the Nation’s Helium Reserve (BPA, 2010)
Spectrum Management for Science in the 21st Century (BPA, 2010)
America’s Future in Space: Aligning the Civil Space Program with National Needs (SSB with ASEB, 2009)
Approaches to Future Space Cooperation and Competition in a Globalizing World: Summary of a Workshop (SSB with ASEB, 2009)
Assessment of Planetary Protection Requirements for Mars Sample Return Missions (SSB, 2009)
Frontiers in Crystalline Matter: From Discovery to Technology (BPA, 2009)
Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies: Interim Report (SSB with ASEB, 2009)
A Performance Assessment of NASA’s Heliophysics Program (SSB, 2009)
Radioisotope Power Systems: An Imperative for Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Space Exploration (SSB with ASEB, 2009)
Scientific Assessment of High-Power Free-Electron Laser Technology (BPA, 2009)
Limited copies of SSB reports are available free of charge from |
Limited copies of BPA reports are available free of charge from |
Space Studies Board |
Board on Physics and Astronomy |
National Research Council |
National Research Council |
The Keck Center of the National Academies |
The Keck Center of the National Academies |
500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20001 |
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(202) 334-3477/ssb@nas.edu |
(202) 334- 3520/bpa@nas.edu |
COMMITTEE ON THE ASSESSMENT OF A PLAN FOR U.S. PARTICIPATION IN EUCLID
DAVID N. SPERGEL, Princeton University, Chair
CHARLES ALCOCK, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
RACHEL BEAN, Cornell University
CHARLES L. BENNETT, Johns Hopkins University
ROMEEL DAVÉ, University of Arizona
ALAN DRESSLER, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science
DEBRA M. ELMEGREEN, Vassar College
JOSHUA A. FRIEMAN, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
THOMAS A. PRINCE, California Institute of Technology
MARCIA J. RIEKE, University of Arizona
Staff
DAVID LANG, Program Officer, Board on Physics and Astronomy, Co-Study Director
CARYN JOY KNUTSEN, Associate Program Officer, Board on Physics and Astronomy, Co-Study Director
LEWIS B. GROSWALD, Research Associate, Space Studies Board
AMANDA R. THIBAULT, Research Associate, Space Studies Board
CATHERINE A. GRUBER, Editor, Space Studies Board
DIONNA WILLIAMS, Program Associate, Space Studies Board
MICHAEL H. MOLONEY, Director, Space Studies Board
DONALD C. SHAPERO, Director, Board on Physics and Astronomy
SPACE STUDIES BOARD
CHARLES F. KENNEL, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, Chair
JOHN KLINEBERG, Space Systems/Loral (retired), Vice Chair
MARK R. ABBOTT, Oregon State University
STEVEN J. BATTEL, Battel Engineering
YVONNE C. BRILL, Aerospace Consultant
ELIZABETH R. CANTWELL, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ANDREW B. CHRISTENSEN, Dixie State College and Aerospace Corporation
ALAN DRESSLER, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution
JACK D. FELLOWS, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
HEIDI B. HAMMEL, Space Science Institute
FIONA A. HARRISON, California Institute of Technology
ANTHONY C. JANETOS, University of Maryland
JOAN JOHNSON-FREESE, Naval War College
ROBERT P. LIN, University of California, Berkeley
MOLLY K. MACAULEY, Resources for the Future
JOHN F. MUSTARD, Brown University
ROBERT T. PAPPALARDO, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
JAMES PAWELCZYK, Pennsylvania State University
MARCIA J. RIEKE, University of Arizona
DAVID N. SPERGEL, Princeton University
WARREN M. WASHINGTON, National Center for Atmospheric Research
CLIFFORD M. WILL, Washington University
THOMAS H. ZURBUCHEN, University of Michigan
MICHAEL H. MOLONEY, Director
CARMELA J. CHAMBERLAIN, Administrative Coordinator
TANJA PILZAK, Manager, Program Operations
CELESTE A. NAYLOR, Information Management Associate
CHRISTINA O. SHIPMAN, Financial Officer
SANDRA WILSON, Financial Assistant
BOARD ON PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
ADAM S. BURROWS, Princeton University, Chair
PHILIP H. BUCKSBAUM, Stanford University, Vice Chair
RICCARDO BETTI, University of Rochester
JAMES DRAKE, University of Maryland
JAMES EISENSTEIN, California Institute of Technology
DEBRA M. ELMEGREEN, Vassar College
PAUL FLEURY, Yale University
STUART FREEDMAN, University of California, Berkeley
LAURA H. GREENE, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
MARTHA P. HAYNES, Cornell University
JOSEPH HEZIR, EOP Group, Inc.
MARK B. KETCHEN, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center
JOSEPH LYKKEN, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
HOMER A. NEAL, University of Michigan
MONICA OLVERA de la CRUZ, Northwestern University
PAUL SCHECHTER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BORIS SHRAIMAN, Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics
MICHAEL S. TURNER, University of Chicago
DONALD C. SHAPERO, Director
JAMES LANCASTER, Associate Director
DAVID LANG, Program Officer
CARYN JOY KNUTSEN, Associate Program Officer
TERI THOROWGOOD, Administrative Coordinator
BETH DOLAN, Financial Associate
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Preface
The formation of the National Research Council’s (NRC’s) Committee on the Assessment of a Plan for U.S. Participation in Euclid was requested by NASA at the November 9, 2011, meeting of the NRC’s Space Studies Board and the Board on Physics and Astronomy. The committee was tasked to:
Determine whether a proposed NASA plan for a U.S. hardware contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA) Euclid mission, in exchange for U.S. membership on the Euclid Science Team and science data access, is a viable part of an overall strategy to pursue the science goals (dark energy measurements, exoplanet detection, and infrared survey science) of the New Worlds, New Horizons report’s top-ranked, large-scale, space-based priority: the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST).
Owing to the mid-February deadline for NASA’s preliminary confirmation to the European Space Agency (ESA) of its interest in participating in the Euclid mission—with a view to a formal exchange of agreements in the Spring following interagency negotiations between NASA and ESA and the completion of the necessary U.S. interagency process to secure the U.S. government’s approval of the resulting agreement—the committee was assembled on an expedited schedule. The committee held its first and only meeting in Washington, D.C., on January 18-20, 2012, with the intention of completing and releasing its report by the end of January. The assembled committee comprised former members of the Committee for the Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics and other individuals with relevant scientific expertise, including some who served on the survey’s relevant panels.
It was clear to the committee from the early stages of this study that it would be impossible to fulfill the task in determining whether a hardware contribution to Euclid is a viable part of an overall strategy to pursue the science goals of WFIRST without discussing both Euclid and WFIRST in detail. That realization was the core thrust behind how the agenda for its meeting was assembled. At that meeting the committee heard from experts and stakeholders from both Europe and the United States. On short notice, these individuals graciously agreed to attend (either in person or remotely) and (1) made presentations in response to questions prepared in advance by the committee, (2) answered additional questions from the committee members, and (3) provided their own candid observations on relevant matters. In its deliberations, the committee made use not only of the testimony of these experts (see Appendix C), but also of the decadal survey report, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics (NWNH), itself. The committee was also keenly aware that it was not charged to consider any alterations to the NWNH science priorities. The committee understood that the survey committee was aware of Euclid’s development and its science goals and that NWNH did not recommend Euclid as sufficient to satisfy the survey’s science priorities. The committee also understood that it was not charged to make recommendations to the European Space Agency. Neither was it charged to make any recommendations on the current NASA planning for the WFIRST mission.
On a personal note I would like to thank my colleagues on the committee who agreed on short notice to participate in this expedited process. This commitment required in some cases considerable disruption not only to their schedules on the days of the meeting but also in the days that followed as we assembled this report. I would also like to thank the staff of the Space Studies Board and the Board on Physics and Astronomy, most notably David Lang, Caryn Knutsen, and Dionna Williams, whose out-of-hours attention to this report made meeting the deadline possible.
David N. Spergel, Chair
Committee on the Assessment of a Plan for U.S.
Participation in Euclid
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee of the National Research Council (NRC). The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
David Bennett, University of Notre Dame,
Roger Blandford, Stanford University,
Adam Burrows, Princeton University,
James Green, University of Colorado,
Charlie Kennel, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of California, San Diego,
Robert C. Kennicutt, Jr., University of Cambridge, U.K.,
Paddy Leahy, University of Manchester, U.K.,
Adam Riess, Space Telescope Science Institute, Johns Hopkins University,
Michael S. Turner, University of Chicago, and
C. Megan Urry, Yale University.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Martha P. Haynes, Cornell University. Appointed by the NRC, she was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
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