Space Studies Board Annual Report 2003 (2004) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5 Congressional Testimony
5 Congressional Testimony
Pages 99-107
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 99... ...
I am also an Emeritus Astronomer at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory and President of Belton Space Exploration Initiatives, LLC, in Tucson, Arizona. I have been involved in space exploration for most of my professional life and have been an investigator on several NASA flight missions including Mariner Venus-Mercury, Voyager, Galileo, Contour, and Deep Impact.
|
From page 100... ...
The resulting set of twelve key questions with high scientific merit should guide the selection of flight missions over the next decade. We measure the scientific merit of a question by asking whether its answer has the possibility of creating or changing a paradigm, whether the new knowledge might have a pivotal effect on the direction of future research, and to what degree the knowledge that might be gained would substantially strengthen the factual basis of our understanding.
|
From page 101... ...
It is important at this juncture to understand that the foundation on which the Survey's priorities rest must also be maintained and secured. The top-level programmatic priorities that are required to provide the foundation for productivity and continued excellence in solar system exploration are: · Continue approved Solar System Exploration programs, such as the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan, those in the Mars Exploration Program, the Discovery Program of low-cost missions, and ensure a level of funding that is adequate for both the successful operations and the analysis of the data and publication of the results of these missions.
|
From page 102... ...
with high science value was noted by the Survey and gives some idea of the technical challenges that lie ahead: Terrestrial Planet Geophysical Network Asteroid Rover/Sample Return Ganymede Observer Titan Explorer Neptune Orbiter/Triton Explorer Saturn Ring Observer Mercury Sample Return Trojan/Centaur Reconnaissance Flyby lo Observer Europa Lander Neptune Orbiter with Probes Uranus Orbiter with Probes Venus Sample Return Comet Cryogenic Sample Return
|
From page 103... ...
Solar system exploration is no exception and in the time since the Survey was completed and published I have felt great excitement and considerable pleasure as important elements of our strategic plan have been proposed to Congress and move, hopefully, towards reality. The New Horizons mission, which I believe can fulfill our goals at the Kuiper Belt and Pluto, is seeing strong support the proposed Jupiter Icy Moons Mission will more than fulfill our goal of a flagship mission to further explore the subsurface oceans on Europa while simultaneously applying the new technologies that the Survey advocates as a basis for much of the future program.
|
From page 104... ...
Throughout the study process, the study panels and Survey Committee actively sought a broad community consensus with input from the wider solar and space physics community. The Survey Committee's report, The Sun to the Earth and Beyond: A Decadal Research Strategy in Solarand Space Physics, identifies five broad scientific challenges that define the focus and thrust of solar and space physics research in the decade 2003 through 2013.
|
From page 105... ...
observed in the solar wind and that affects Earth? To answer these questions, the Survey Committee strongly recommends implementation of a NASA Solar Probe mission to undertake the first exploration of the regions very near the Sun, which is the birthplace of the heliosphere itself.
|
From page 106... ...
To complement the observational study of such fundamental processes in naturally occurring solar system plasmas, the Survey Committee recommends vigorous support of existing NASA and NSF theory and modeling programs as well as support for new initiatives such as the Coupling Complexity Research Initiative, a joint NASA/NSF theory and modeling program. Challenge 5: Developing a near-real-time predictive capability for the impact of space weather on human activities.
|
From page 107... ...
As I noted earlier, in my comments on the space weather challenge, the Survey Committee strongly recommends that NOAA assume responsibility for the implementation of an upstream solar wind monitor. Other Survey Committee recommendations regarding space weather policy address measures to facilitate the transition from research to operations, the acquisition and availability of data on solar activity and the geospace environment, and the roles of the public and private sectors in space weather applications.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.