Space Studies Board Annual Report 1998 (1999) / Chapter Skim
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3. Summaries of Major Reports
3. Summaries of Major Reports
Pages 34-101
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From page 34... ...
This concept was explored at the Workshop on Biology-based Technology to Enhance the Human Presence in Extended Space Exploration, held on October 21-22, 1997, by the Space Studies Board (SSB) of the National Research Council at the Center for Advanced Space Studies in Houston, Texas.
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From page 35... ...
Chapter 4 touches briefly on workshop participants' observations regarding points for considerations in any follow-on activitiesincluding the importance of defining specific technical requirements for long-duration human exploration of space and the usefulness of tracking developments in fields other than aeronautics and space science that may contribute to the application of biology-based systems and principles in Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) Enterprise missions.
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From page 36... ...
The applicability of advanced biological dosimeters for space exploration could be addressed as part of the workshop on biosensors suggested above. Enhancing Human Presence and Function Session 2 participants sought to identify biological concepts and principles that might enhance human function in four areas: perception, manipulation and locomotion, cognition, and systems and computation.
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From page 37... ...
to detect very small magnetic fields, offers a number of advantages, including rapid response and ease of use. A SQUID cryogenic cap or helmet for recording brain waves may be particularly appropriate in the space environment, where temperatures are theoretically cold enough to make the SQUIDs superconducting.
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From page 38... ...
The database could support dynamic mission planning and execution strategies and improved problem solving and could be self-organizing to respond to immediate needs. Biology-based concepts could also be applied to the presentation of data.
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From page 39... ...
Laboratory studies of meteorites can focus NEO exploration objectives and quantify the information obtained from telescopes. Once high-priority targets have been identified, various kinds of spacecraft missions (flyby, rendezvous, and sample return)
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From page 40... ...
An appropriate augmentation to this baseline is to support the acquisition and development of new analytical instruments needed for further studies of extraterrestrial materials and for characterization of returned NEO samples. Spacecraft missions and the development of the associated technology and instrumentation are essential components of any program for the study of NEOs.
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From page 41... ...
The Kuiper Belt is also thought to be the source of short-period comets and a population of icy bodies, the Centaurs, with orbits among the giant planets. Additional components of the distant outer solar system, such as dust and the Oort comet cloud, as well as the planet Neptune itself, are not discussed in this report.
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From page 42... ...
They are included here because they raise a number of interesting possibilities that seem particularly suited to an interdisciplinary approach uniting planetary scientists with their colleagues in the astrophysical and life science communities. Although not considered in any detail in this report, the distant outer solar system also has direct relevance to Earth and the other terrestrial planets because it is the source of comets that bring volatiles into the inner solar system.
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From page 43... ...
Outstanding issues for Kuiper Belt objects are the following: · What fraction of KBOs are in dynamically evolved orbits? · What is the rate at which their orbits are perturbed sufficiently to send KBOs inward where they might interact with the giant planets?
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From page 44... ...
Spacecraft Missions To explore the makeup of objects in the trans-neptunian region, COMPLEX recommends an approach that combines telescopic observations of the bulk properties of a large sample of Kuiper Belt objects with close-up, spacecraft studies of the detailed properties of a few specific objects. The highest scientific priority for the exploration of the trans-neptunian solar system is extensive and detailed measurement of the fundamental physical and chemical properties of the Pluto-Charon system, end members of the KBO population.
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From page 45... ...
Studies of the statistical properties of Kuiper Belt objects would benefit greatly from the availability of large array detectors. In addition, studies of the physical and chemical properties of all trans-neptunian objects would be enhanced by the availability of highquantum-efficiency array detectors (~1 to 10 microns for studies of reflected light and ~10 to 100 microns for studies of thermal emission)
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From page 46... ...
REFERENCES 1. Space Studies Board, National Research Council, An Integrated Strategy for the Planetary Sciences: 1995-2010, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1994, pp.
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From page 47... ...
to assess the utility of a third SIR-C/X-SAR mission. In a letter report dated April 4, 1995, the Committee on Earth Studies of the Space Studies Board concluded that a third flight would produce useful scientific results if the existing instrumentation were simply reflown, but that it would produce especially worthwhile results if it were modified for dual-antenna interferometric measurements of terrain topography.
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From page 48... ...
In the committee's judgment, spaceborne SAR will become increasingly important in achieving the objectives of NASA' s Earth Science Enterprise (ESE formerly Mission to Planet Earth) science strategy, which is a deeper understanding of the five major components of the Earth system: hydrological, biogeochemical, atmospheric, ecological, and geophysical processes.
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From page 49... ...
There is sufficient evidence to warrant consideration of a multifrequency small SAR. Single-frequency, singlepolarization spaceborne SAR systems cannot meet all of the scientific objectives outlined in the LightSAR science plan.
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From page 50... ...
No single nation has the resources to deploy the constellation of satellites necessary to exploit this technology fully or to test the advantages and disadvantages of different combinations of spectral bands or types of data from different sensors. CONCLUSION Recent technological advances that can significantly reduce the size and cost of spaceborne SAR, advances in data capture and processing, the advantages of SAR over electro-optical imaging, and potential trade-offs to reduce the weight of a SAR all led the committee to conclude that focused applications of a multifrequency small SAR mission, as opposed to one with a single-frequency system, could provide more and better information and understanding of earth, ocean, and atmospheric processes at lower costs than were heretofore possible.
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From page 51... ...
The committees' assessment is based on the following assumptions regarding the various agencies' roles: · NASA is the nation's space agency responsible for solar and geospace exploration as well as the human use of space; · NOAA is the major provider of civilian solar and space environment information; · NSF is a major sponsor of basic solar-terrestrial research and the lead agency for the National Space Weather Program; · DOD (and in particular the Air Force and the Navy) is both a user of space environment information and a sponsor of related research and monitoring; and · DOE is an additional user and sponsor concerned with national security aspects of the space environment.
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From page 52... ...
· The committees recommend that NOAA, through its Space Environment Center, develop and execute a plan to fulfill its responsibilities within the National Space Weather Program during the coming period of enhanced demand for space environment forecasting services. · The committees also recommend that NOAA ensure the certification and prompt dissemination of space environment and geophysical databases through its National Geophysical Data Center.
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From page 53... ...
By enhancing the productivity of those experiments and bringing in useful external expertise, such a program would help speed the National Space Weather Program's rapid application of new knowledge. Department of Energy Although DOE has reasons for its highly targeted commitment to the space environment endeavor, the committees believe that with minimal disruption of the status duos DOE's contribution to the solar maximum activities described herein can be magnified.
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From page 54... ...
· NSF and DOD have shown their support for the National Space Weather Program, but to realize the goals of the NSWP, NOAA should work to translate research models of the solar-terrestrial system to operational uses, perhaps through the creation of the proposed rapid prototyping center. · Increasing effects of solar and geospace environment disturbances on human activities are expected during the period of the solar maximum.
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From page 55... ...
The joint committee's central task was to analyze a set of U.S.-European cooperative missions in the space sciences, Earth sciences from space, and life and microgravity sciences and to determine what lessons could be learned regarding international agreements, mission planning, schedules, costs, and scientific contribution. A1though the charge is largely retrospective and relies on existing or past missions, the joint committee found that in some cases, missions in the development stage offered the best (or only)
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From page 56... ...
RECOMMENDATIONS The joint committee, having surveyed and analyzed the 13 U.S.-European cases discussed in Chapter 3, identified several conditions that either facilitated or hampered bilateral or multilateral cooperation in space science. Some of these conditions are unique to their scientific disciplines and their "cultures," whereas others are
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From page 57... ...
The success of an international space scientific mission requires that cooperative efforts whether they involve national or multinational leadership reinforce and foster mutual respect, confidence, and a sense of partnership among participants. Each partner's contributions must be acknowledged in the media and in publications resulting from joint missions.
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From page 58... ...
This test is particularly important in the area of anticipated and upcoming large missions. Specifically, the joint committee recommends that international cooperative missions involve the following: · Scientific support through peer review that affirms the scientific integrity, value, requirements, and benefits of a cooperative mission; · An historicalfoundat~on built on an existing international community, partnership, and shared scientific experiences; · Shared objectives that incorporate the interests of scientists, engineers, and managers in common and communicated goals; · Clearly derned responsibilities and roles for cooperative partners, including scientists, engineers, and · ~ mission managers; An agreed-upon process for data calibration, validation, access, and distribution; A sense of partnership recognizing the unique contributions of each participant; Beneficial characteristics of cooperation; and · Recognition of the importance of reviews for cooperative activities in the conceptual, developmental, active, or extended mission phases particularly for foreseen and upcoming large missions.
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From page 59... ...
The joint committee found the following: Finding: A clear management scheme with well-defined interfaces between the parties and efficient communications is essential. Recommendation 6 The joint committee recommends that, at the earliest stages of each international space research mission, the partners designate (IJ two management points of contact, one U.S.
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From page 60... ...
Recommendation 8 The joint committee recommends that the participation of each partner in an international space-related mission be clearly acknowledged in the publications, reports, and public outreach of the mission. Finding: Those missions with the smoothest cooperative efforts had project managers on both sides of the Atlantic with mutual respect for each other.
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From page 61... ...
· Laws governing intellectual property rights may restrict information flow or lead to difficulties in bilateral or multilateral U.S.-European space cooperation; and · Failings within the MOU process can create delays, loss of scientific opportunities, lost economic investments, and a decline in international goodwill, all of which can weaken the foundation for future cooperative activities. Recommendation 11 In light of the importance of international cooperative activities in space and given the changing environmentfor cooperation, the joint committee recommends that the national and multinational space agencies advise science ministers and advisers on the implications that particular national trade export-import, data, and intellectualproperty policies may have on important cooperative space programs.
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From page 62... ...
and Phase CID of space science missions. Only a fraction of missions would be expected to proceed through the full cycle, and each agreement could clearly state the likelihood of proceeding to the next stage.
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From page 63... ...
and European space agencies should ensure that programs plan and reserve adequate resources for management and distribution of data and develop and implement strategies for long-term archiving of data from all space missions. Although multiyear appropriations for international missions might be preferred, Congress has been reluctant to authorize such multiyear commitments because of the inflexibility it creates in the appropriations process.
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From page 64... ...
life sciences research lies in understanding the effects of the space environment on human physiology and on biology in plants and animals. The strategy for achieving that goal as originally enunciated in the 1987 Goldberg report, A Strategy for Space Biology and Medical Science for the 1980s and 1990s,~ remains generally valid today.
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From page 65... ...
or by other aspects of the space environment (e.g., stress-induced phenomena)
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From page 66... ...
Because no critical effects have been seen in model invertebrates, the highest priority should be given to testing vertebrate models such as fish, birds, and small mammals such as mice or rats. If developmental effects are detected, control experiments must be performed on the ground and in space, including the use of a space-based 1-g centrifuge, to identity whether gravity or some other element of the space environment induces the developmental abnormalities.
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From page 67... ...
Plants, Gravity, and Space The study of plants in the space environment has been driven by three main needs: (1) learning how to grow plants successfully in space (space horticulture)
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From page 68... ...
2. It is important for the success of long-duration space missions to identify the sensory, motor, and cognitive factors that influence adaptation and retention of adaptation to different force environments, including rotating environments.
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From page 69... ...
Within the discipline of bone physiology, the phenomenon of bone loss in astronauts is clearly the issue of greatest concern to NASA. Both the extent and the reversibility of the bone loss are crucial questions for long-term crowed flights on the space station and for future space exploration and should be addressed by collecting data from each astronaut to build up the necessary database.
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From page 70... ...
Even after missions of a few weeks, the locomotion of astronauts is very unstable immediately after they return to Earth, owing to a combination of orthostatic intolerance, altered otolith-spinal reflexes, reliance on weakened atrophic muscles, and inappropriate motor patterns. The committee's high-priority research recommendations are summarized below: · Priority should be given to research that focuses on cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying muscle weakness, fatigue, incoordination, and delayed-onset muscle soreness.
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From page 71... ...
With the advent of the space station era, the focus shifts from early responses to spaceflight to the long-term adaptive responses. The three chronic responses that are areas of serious concern are bone loss, muscle atrophy, and possibly the question of maintaining energy balance at an acceptable level.
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From page 72... ...
4. Determine if exposure to heavy ions at the level that would occur during deep-space missions of long duration poses a risk to the integrity and function of the central nervous system.
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From page 73... ...
In the near term, until the research facilities of the International Space Station come online or an additional Spacelab mission is provided, NASA-supported research will necessarily be directed primarily toward ground-based investigations designed to answer fundamental questions and frame critical hypotheses that can later be tested in space. Indeed, as this report emphasizes, understanding the basic mechanisms underlying biological and behavioral responses to spaceflight is essential to designing effective countermeasures and protecting astronaut health and safety both in space and upon return to Earth.
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From page 74... ...
· Appropriate methods for referencing intrathoracic vascular pressures to systemic pressures in microgravity should be identified and validated, given the observed changes in cardiac and pulmonary volume and compliance. Radiation Hazards The biological effects of exposure to radiation in space pose potentially serious health effects for crew members in long-term missions beyond low Earth orbit.
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From page 75... ...
· The role that the host response to stressors during spaceflight plays in alterations in host defenses should be determined. Psychological and Social Issues The health, well-being, and performance of astronauts on extended missions may be negatively affected bY many stressful aspects of the space environment.
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From page 76... ...
PROGRAMMATIC AND POLICY ISSUES Although NASA has responded effectively to many of the programmatic and policy issues raised in the 1987 and 1991 reports,7 ~ significant concerns in the program and policy arena remain unresolved. These concerns focus on issues relating to strategic planning and conduct of space-based research; utilization of the International Space Station (ISS)
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From page 77... ...
· NASA should regularly review and evaluate the performance of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute and the impact of its funding on the overall life sciences research budget and program. Human Flight Data: Collection and Access The disciplinary chapters of this report repeatedly stress the need for improved, systematic collection of data on astronauts preflight, in space, and postflight.
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From page 78... ...
3. Space Science Board, 1987, A Strategy for Space Biology and Medical Science for the 1980s and l990s, p.
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From page 79... ...
In response to NASA's request, the Space Studies Board established the Task Group on Sample Return from Small Solar System Bodies to address the following specific tasks: · Assess the potential for a living entity to be contained in or on samples returned from planetary satellites or primitive solar system bodies, such as asteroids, comets, and meteoroids; · Identify detectable differences among small solar system bodies that would affect the above assessment; · Identify scientific investigations that need to be conducted to reduce the uncertainty in the above assessment; and · Assess the potential risk posed by samples returned directly to Earth from spaceflight missions, as compared to the natural influx of material that enters Earth's atmosphere as interplanetary dust particles, meteorites, and other small impactors. Concerns about potential risks from returned extraterrestrial materials are not new, having been raised initially more than three decades ago with the return of lunar samples during the Apollo program.
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From page 80... ...
the limitations of the available data led the task group to be less certain, and therefore more conservative, in its assessment of the need for containment. The following section summarizes the task group's findings with regard to the potential for a living entity to be present in samples returned from select planetary satellites and small solar system bodies.
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From page 81... ...
For all C-type asteroids, undifferentiated metamorphosed asteroids, and differentiated asteroids, the potential for a living entity to be present in returned samples is extremely low, but the task group could not conclude that it is necessarily zero. Comets Comets are believed to have formed in the protoplanetary disk, at distances from the Sun ranging from the distance of proto-Jupiter to far beyond the distance of proto-Neptune.
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From page 82... ...
CInterplanetary dust particles sampled from the interplanetary medium and from the parent bodies listed in subcolumn Ia. Interplanetary dust sampled from the parent bodies in column II and collected in a way that would not result in exposure to extreme temperatures.
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From page 83... ...
Recommendation: For samples returned from Phobos and Deimos, Callisto, C-type asteroids, undifferentiated metamorphosed asteroids, differentiated asteroids, comets other than dynamically new ones, and interplanetary dust particles sampled near these bodies, a conservative, case-by-case approach should be used to assess the containment and handling requirements. NASA should consult with or establish an advisory committee with expertise in the planetary and biological sciences relevant to such an assessment.
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From page 84... ...
Recommendation: The planetary protection measures adopted for the first sample return mission to a small body whose samples warrant special handling and containment should not be relaxed for subsequent missions without a thorough scientific review and concurrence by an appropriate independent body. Scientific Investigations to Reduce Uncertainty Identified by the task group in Chapters 2 through 6 is scientific research that could help to reduce the uncertainty in its assessment of the potential for a living entity to be contained in or on samples returned from planetary satellites and small solar system bodies.
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From page 85... ...
In 1996 the Space Studies Board (SSB) formed the multidisciplinary Task Group on Research and Analysis Programs to study R&DA programs and trends in light of new agency approaches to space research.
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From page 86... ...
In reviewing the history of research conducted under R&DA in NASA's three science offices space science, Earth science, and life and microgravity science the task group developed a sampler of specific accomplishments that illustrate the return on investments in R&DA. These examples highlight seven different kinds of contributions, namely: 1.
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From page 87... ...
National Research Council (NRC) , Space Studies Board, "On NASA Field Center Science and Scientists," letter to NASA Chief Scientist France Cordova, March 29, 1995; NRC, Space Studies Board and the Committee on Space Biology and Medicine, "On Peer Review in NASA Life Sciences programs," letter to Dr.
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From page 88... ...
Recommendation 3: NASA should routinely examine the size and number of grants awarded to individual investigators to ensure that grant sizes are adequate to achieve the proposed research and that their number is consistent with the time commitments of each investigator. The differences in award sizes for the Offices of Space Science, Earth Science, and Life and Microgravity Science and Applications should be reconciled with program objectives, especially those for space sciences, which often are funded at levels of less than $50,000 to $60,000.
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From page 89... ...
These data should be gathered and reported annually and used to inform regular evaluations of R&DA activities (Recommendations 1 and 21. One approach would be to itemize the following elements in the budget: theoretical investigations; new instrument development; exploratory or supporting ground-based and suborbital research; interpretation of data from space missions; management of data; support of U.S.
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From page 90... ...
, coupled with important organizational changes within NASA, prompted OSS to request this NRC follow-on study to assess NASA's current approach to technology development. The Space Studies Board established the Task Group on Technology Development in NASA' s Office of Space Science to conduct this study.
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From page 91... ...
More important than analysis, however, is the problem that this lack presents to rational management decision making. NASA wholeheartedly agreed with the Managing the Space Sciences recommendation to move to full-cost accounting.
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From page 92... ...
Space Studies Board and Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board. Committee on the Future of Space Science.
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From page 93... ...
A number of the fundamental scientific challenges noted above require spatial and temporal resolution and long-term synoptic coverage that can only be realistically achieved through a program of groundbased observations. Ground-based solar research programs provide easy accessibility to facilities for the entire solar-physics community and are a means for the hands-on education of the next generation of solar researchers.
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From page 94... ...
For example, vector magnetograms are recorded by the University of Hawaii's Mees Solar Observatory, California State University at Northridge' s San Fernando Solar Observatory, NASA' s Marshall Space Flight Center, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Big Bear Solar Observatory.2 Similarly, the Stanford University Wilcox Solar Observatory specializes in low-resolution magnetograms designed to show the current sheet separating the northern and southern magnetic hemispheres of the Sun and the large-scale surface velocity patterns. Facilities outside the NSO also provide data essential to supporting ongoing NSO programs.
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From page 95... ...
Although much of the current solar data analysis and theoretical work continues to be done in universities and national institutes with NSF funding, today an increasing amount of solar physics research is conducted at institutes and universities that focus more on space-based projects, with only indirect attention to ground-based studies supported by research and technology contracts from NASA. Thus, for example, the Big Bear Solar Observatory, the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, and others reflect the changing pattern away from research traditionally supported by NSF to research oriented toward space-based observations of the Sun for which there is support.
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From page 96... ...
At present, there is a strong space-based solar research program that is able to analyze and interpret observational data effectively. Solar space research is conducted in university space science groups, NASA field centers, Department of Defense research laboratories, and some corporate research facilities.
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From page 97... ...
The next set of recommendations focuses on addressing the issues that emerge in the two other major elements of the U.S. groundbased solar research program, which are (1)
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From page 98... ...
THE WORKSHOP ON SUBSTELLAR-MASS OBJECTS Given the recent successes in discovering SMOs by direct and indirect means, and the shared interest in them by research communities with very different goals and perspectives, the Space Studies Board organized a workshop to conduct a systematic cross-disciplinary examination of the state of the field. Its purpose was to assess the current state of the field and identify future studies that might contribute to important research goals in star and planet formation, the frequency of planetary systems, the nature of non-luminous matter on scales up through cosmological, the behavior of matter under extreme conditions, and the evolution of atmospheres of objects ranging in mass from planetary through stellar.
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From page 99... ...
The key to the new successes lies in technological advancements in ground-based telescopes buttressed by results from key spacecraft programs and theoretical studies of growing power and fidelity. The challenge for NASA and other funding agencies is to foster these programs in such a way that they contribute to NASA's ultimate programmatic goal of discovering terrestrial planets in orbit around other stars, but without encouraging a premature narrowing of focus toward a single, high-cost technique or mission.
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From page 100... ...
Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Research The study of SMOs is necessarily interdisciplinary in nature, and progress in this field will require planetary scientists and astronomers to communicate and collaborate with each other as well as with colleagues from across a broad range of disciplines in the physical sciences. The Contribution of Studies of SMOs to Achieving Long-Term Scientific Priorities Studies of SMOs have direct relevance to a number of long-standing scientific goals and priorities, their most obvious role being to provide a testing ground for honing the instrumentation and observational techniques necessary to detect extrasolar terrestrial planets.
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From page 101... ...
With appropriate developments, microlensing could provide a shortcut to the detection of extrasolar terrestrial planets. To ensure continued progress in this area, NASA and other agencies should foster coordination and collaboration among various search programs to enable ongoing discoveries and to follow up on possible candidate events.
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