Space Studies Board Annual Report 2001 (2002) / Chapter Skim
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3. Summaries of Major Reports
3. Summaries of Major Reports
Pages 36-59
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From page 36... ...
It dictates the most important recommendation of this report: Recommendation. It is imperative that planning and construction of the Mars Quarantine Facility be begun at least 7 years in advance of the anticipated return of Mars samples.
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From page 37... ...
Sterilization probably is systematically achieved by the supercritical fluids used in making extracts, but this needs to be verified before extracts can be removed from the Mars Quarantine Facility. [Chapter 41 Much of the program of life detection will depend on studies of organic compounds in samples that were sterilized so they could be removed from the quarantine facility.
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From page 38... ...
Management and operation of the Mars Quarantine Facility should be shared between the United States and major international partners that participated in the collection of martian samples. [Chapter 61 RELEASE OF SAMPLES FROM THE QUARANTINE FACILITY COMPLEX considered the possible results of initial searches for evidence of lifer in the martian samples, especially analyses of the samples for total organic carbon.
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From page 39... ...
In the likely event that initial examination of the Mars samples can neither prove nor definitively rule out evidence of life in them, plans should be in place to promptly sterilize aliquots of the samples and remove them from the Mars Quarantine Facility for biological and geochemical studies in specialized laboratories elsewhere. This action should not be deferred pending resolution of the question of whether the samples contain life or artifacts of life.
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From page 40... ...
[Chapter 71 Recommendation. A continuing committee of senior biologists and geochemists that includes appropriate international representation should be formed and charged with reviewing every step of the planning, construction, and employment of the Mars Quarantine Facility.
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From page 41... ...
To develop the needed integrated and comprehensive strategy for the field, the committee recommends the formation of an interagency planning board for astronomy and astrophysics. NOTE: "Executive Summary" reprinted from U.S.
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From page 42... ...
The committee's recommendations address improving the present fit would be unreasonable to consolidate under NSF, i.e., to place space missions under NSF, since NSF has no space experience, does not operate its own facilities, and does not have a large enough budget to carry out space missions. Additional important federal components include the Department of Energy, which conducts research in particle, high-energy, nuclear, and plasma physics and in computational science related to astronomy and astrophysics; the Smithsonian Institution, which plays a significant role in astronomy and astrophysics research through the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; and the Department of Defense, which supports research in areas such as solar physics, astrometric astronomy, and observing technology that is carried out primarily through multiple programs in the Navy and Air Force research offices.
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From page 43... ...
. The reports of the seven discipline panels established under the Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee are forthcoming in a companion volume titled Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium: Panel Reports (National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 2001)
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From page 44... ...
As a consequence, major changes were proposed by the agency in the ISS design that would reduce the total ISS crew capacity from six or seven to three, and cancel or delay indefinitely the development and deployment of many of the planned major research facilities. To accommodate both the possibility of a rescoped station and the uncertainty regarding the actual extent of such a rescoping, the Task Group on Research on the International Space Station chose to consider two alternate scenarios in developing its conclusions.
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From page 45... ...
F levels and there were no annual microgravity research-dedicated shuttle flights, then the viability of the overall program in microgravity research would be seriously jeopardized, as would the ability of NASA to achieve its stated scientific goals for the ISS. Therefore, if it becomes apparent that the ISS will not be available for meaningful microgravity research by the beginning of FY 2006, then annual shuttle flights dedicated to microgravity experiments should be made a part of the program.
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From page 46... ...
and their motivation, and consider the degree to which recent discoveries suggest a reordering of priorities; and · Assess the congruence between NASA' s evolving Mars Exploration Program plan and these recommended priorities, and suggest any adjustments that might be warranted. STUDY APPROACH AND EMPHASIS COMPLEX comprehensively reviewed Mars science in nine disciplinary areas, working its way from the interior of the planet (Chapter 2)
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From page 47... ...
Since sample return missions are expensive and will tend to preempt the resources of the Mars Exploration Program, a key question is how many of them are needed. COMPLEX concluded that it cannot be realistically anticipated that the first sample return from Mars will unlock all of the planet' s secrets, because orbital observations have shown that Mars's geologic and climatic history is best exposed in widely separated, isolated locations, and a complete picture of Mars history is unlikely to be obtained from samples collected at a single location.
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From page 48... ...
· The Mars Quarantine Facility in which Mars samples will be processed, stored, and released for scientific study, and in which a very limited range of studies will be carried out, must be designed, built, and certified (Space Studies Board, 2001~. · Research must be initiated on several outstanding questions that will affect the design of the Mars Quarantine Facility (e.g., combining biological isolation with clean-room conditions; establishing the efficacy and detrimental effects of sterilization techniques)
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From page 49... ...
It is essential that support be provided for the study and exploitation of this body of data. The Mars Exploration Program consists of a queue of flight missions, so the present assessment of the program also discusses flight missions and rarely touches on Earth-based research.
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From page 50... ...
The majority of the current PSD portfolio consists of research in the following disciplines: · Fluid behavior, · Combustion science, · Materials science, · Fundamental physics, and · Biotechnology. Research in each of these areas has been performed by an extensive cadre of ground-based and flight investigators from academia, government, and industry, with the flight investigators utilizing an array of carriers ranging from the International Space Station to KC-135 aircraft.
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From page 51... ...
When selecting research topics in the emerging areas involving nanotechnology, including nanoscale materials and processes, biomolecular physics and chemistry, cellular biophysics and chemistry, and integrated systems for HEDS, the PSD should focus on those that meet both of the following criteria: Directly address challenges at the interface between the physical sciences, engineering, and biology in support of NASA's mission, preferentially capitalizing on existing expertise or infrastructure in the Physical Sciences Division, and 2, Support research either not typically funded by other agencies or to be conducted in close partnership with other agencies. The committee encompassed all of these considerations in a mission statement for the Physical Sciences Division: The mission of the Physical Sciences Division is threefold: to conduct research in a low-gravity environment; to probe the role of gravity in physical processes; and to investigate the fundamental physical principles behind emerging technologies relevant to NASA's mission.
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From page 52... ...
In addition, participants in five workshop splinter sessions on education and training, institutional, technical, and policy issues in technology transfer, user awareness and needs-identified and discussed more general barriers bottlenecks that interfere with the development of remote sensing applications and also explored ways to overcome such problems. Plenary presentation focused on research on technology transfer; science and policy issues in the coastal zone; a comparison of remote sensing technology transfer with respect to geographic information systems and the Global Positioning System; and new directions in the use of remote sensing data.
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From page 53... ...
Department of Agriculture; private companies; state and local government users; and not-for-profit institutions) , should mount a study to identify and analyze the full range of short- and long-term costs and benefits of developing remote sensing applications and the full costs of their implementation by public, nongovernmental, and other noncommercial users.
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From page 54... ...
Resources, separate from funding for basic research, should be made available to federal agencies such as NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Transportation, the National Science Foundation, and others for support of research on remote sensing applications and remote sensing applications derived from basic research.
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From page 55... ...
Standards and Protocols Finding. The lack of standard data formats, open and available protocols, and standard validation and verification information inhibits the spread of remote sensing applications (see Chapter 3~.
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From page 56... ...
The committee emphasizes that this is a workshop report, rather than a detailed strategy study, and so drawing very specific conclusions and recommendations is not appropriate. NOTE: "Executive Summary" reprinted from Signs of Life: A Report Based on the April 2000 Workshop on Life Detection Techniques, approved for release November 7, 2001.
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From page 57... ...
should be made to assess the potential for extant life on other planetary surfaces in situ, using robotic missions. Some of the approaches available for the detection of living organisms are available in miniaturized form and are potentially space qualifiable for an in situ life detection mission.
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From page 58... ...
On the other hand, in situ analysis is not subject to the concern of back contamination of Earth; hence sample handling is, in that respect, greatly simplified. Whether and to what extent attempts to detect life in situ will be made prior to return of a sample to Earth is an unresolved issue in NASA' s Mars Exploration Program.
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From page 59... ...
Because of the continuing rapid improvements in technology, it is not appropriate at this time to recommend a specific set of techniques for in situ life detection, but in situ life detection will require commitment to a small set of potential techniques with significant lead time to ensure that they can be space qualified. The committee encourages continued efforts to develop innovative and miniaturizable techniques for in situ life detection.
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