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 task group responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this project was provided by Contract NASW 96013 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
International Standard Book Number 0-309-06275-6
Copyright 1998 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Copies of this report are available from:
Space Studies Board
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Printed in the United States of America
TASK GROUP ON RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS PROGRAMS
ANTHONY W. ENGLAND,
University of Michigan,
Chair
JAMES G. ANDERSON,
Harvard University
MAGNUS HÖÖK,
Texas A&M University
JURI MATISOO,
IBM Research (retired)
ROBERTA BALSTAD MILLER,
CIESIN-Columbia University
DOUGLAS D. OSHEROFF,
Stanford University
CHRISTOPHER T. RUSSELL,
University of California at Los Angeles
STEVEN W. SQUYRES,
Cornell University
PAUL G. STEFFES,
Georgia Institute of Technology
JUNE M. THORMODSGARD,
U.S. Geological Survey
EUGENE H. TRINH,
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
ARTHUR B.C. WALKER, JR.,
Stanford University
PATRICK JOHN WEBBER,
Michigan State University
PAMELA L. WHITNEY, Study Director
RONALD M. KONKEL, Consultant
ANNE K. SIMMONS, Senior Program Assistant
SPACE STUDIES BOARD
CLAUDE R. CANIZARES,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Chair
MARK R. ABBOTT,
Oregon State University
FRAN BAGENAL,
University of Colorado at Boulder
JAMES P. BAGIAN,*
Environmental Protection Agency
DANIEL N. BAKER,
University of Colorado at Boulder
LAWRENCE BOGORAD,*
Harvard University
DONALD E. BROWNLEE,*
University of Washington
ROBERT E. CLELAND,
University of Washington
JOHN J. DONEGAN,*
John Donegan Associates, Inc.
GERARD W. ELVERUM, JR.,
TRW Space and Technology Group (retired)
ANTHONY W. ENGLAND,*
University of Michigan
MARILYN L. FOGEL,
Carnegie Institution of Washington
MARTIN E. GLICKSMAN,*
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
RONALD GREELEY,
Arizona State University
BILL GREEN, former member,
U.S. House of Representatives
CHRISTIAN JOHANNSEN,
Purdue University
ANDREW H. KNOLL,
Harvard University
JANET G. LUHMANN,*
University of California at Berkeley
JONATHAN I. LUNINE,
University of Arizona
ROBERTA BALSTAD MILLER,
CIESIN-Columbia University
BERRIEN MOORE III,*
University of New Hampshire
KENNETH H. NEALSON,*
University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee
GARY J. OLSEN,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
MARY JANE OSBORN,
University of Connecticut Health Center
SIMON OSTRACH,*
Case Western Reserve University
MORTON B. PANISH,*
AT&T Bell Laboratories (retired)
CARLÉ M. PIETERS,*
Brown University
THOMAS A. PRINCE,
California Institute of Technology
MARCIA J. RIEKE,*
University of Arizona
PEDRO L. RUSTAN, JR.,
U.S. Air Force (retired)
JOHN A. SIMPSON,*
University of Chicago
GEORGE L. SISCOE,
Boston University
EUGENE B. SKOLNIKOFF,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
EDWARD M. STOLPER,
California Institute of Technology
NORMAN E. THAGARD,
Florida State University
ALAN M. TITLE,
Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center
RAYMOND VISKANTA,
Purdue University
PETER VOORHEES,
Northwestern University
ROBERT E. WILLIAMS,*
Space Telescope Science Institute
JOHN A. WOOD,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
JOSEPH K. ALEXANDER, Director (as of February 17, 1998)
MARC S. ALLEN, former Director (through December 12, 1997)
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS
ROBERT J. HERMANN,
United Technologies Corporation,
Co-chair
W. CARL LINEBERGER,
University of Colorado,
Co-chair
PETER M. BANKS,
Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
WILLIAM BROWDER,
Princeton University
LAWRENCE D. BROWN,
University of Pennsylvania
RONALD G. DOUGLAS,
Texas A&M University
JOHN E. ESTES,
University of California at Santa Barbara
MARTHA P. HAYNES,
Cornell University
L. LOUIS HEGEDUS,
Elf Atochem North America, Inc.
JOHN E. HOPCROFT,
Cornell University
CAROL M. JANTZEN,
Westinghouse Savannah River Company
PAUL G. KAMINSKI,
Technovation, Inc.
KENNETH H. KELLER,
University of Minnesota
KENNETH I. KELLERMANN,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
MARGARET G. KIVELSON,
University of California at Los Angeles
DANIEL KLEPPNER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JOHN KREICK,
Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company
MARSHA I. LESTER,
University of Pennsylvania
NICHOLAS P. SAMIOS,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
CHANG-LIN TIEN,
University of California at Berkeley
NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director
Foreword
The charter of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Law 85-568, is known as the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 with its several amendments. Title I gives a "Declaration of Policy and Purpose" listing several objectives "of the aeronautical and space activities of the United States." The first of these is "the expansion of human knowledge of the Earth and of phenomena in the atmosphere and space." It provides the rationale for most of NASA's scientific research.
One component of NASA's approach to meeting the objective of Tide I is to conduct space missions. These missions consume the majority of the agency's attention and resources and are most evident to the public; they are certainly necessary for collecting the data that can drive the expansion of knowledge.
Equally important components, but ones that are generally less visible and less well appreciated, are the programs in research and analysis and in data analysis. The former provides the scientific underpinnings and often the enabling technology for NASA missions, and the latter turns their raw data into scientific understanding. Both programs are really aggregations of numerous investigations by individuals or consortia at universities, NASA centers, other federal and not-for-profit laboratories, and industry, covering a broad range of topics and kinds of activity. Each one is generally modest, but the total is a significant fraction of NASA's science expenditures.
This report takes a broad look at the research and data analysis (R&DA) programs across all the science disciplines addressed by NASA. It considers the role of R&DA, examines as much as possible the historical trends in funding, and considers ways in which R&DA programs could be improved in the context of the current space research environment.
It seems inevitable that specific space missions will continue to occupy the foreground of NASA's image, especially for those who look at the agency from some distance. Officials and policy makers, however, must give equal attention to the activities of R&DA, which are essential in meeting the agency's overarching mission to expand human knowledge.
Claude R. Canizares
Chair, Space Studies Board
Acknowledgment Of Reviewers
This report has been reviewed by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council's (NRC's) Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the authors and the NRC in making the 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 contents of 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 participation in the review of this report:
George Clark, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Arthur Code, WIYN Consortium, Inc.,
Thomas M. Donahue, University of Michigan,
Richard Goody, Harvard University (emeritus),
Jeanne Griffith, National Science Foundation,
Kenneth C. Jezek, Byrd Polar Research Center,
Adrian D. LeBlanc, Baylor College of Medicine, Methodist Hospital,
Ronald F. Probstein, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Roland W. Schmitt, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (retired), and
George Wetherill, Carnegie Institution of Washington.
We also wish to thank Kathryn Schmoll, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, for her review comments on the data sections of the report.
Although the individuals listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, responsibility for the final content of this report rests solely with the authoring committee and the NRC.