Space Studies Board Annual Report 2007 (2008) / Chapter Skim
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5.3 Assessment of the NASA Astrobiology Institute
5.3 Assessment of the NASA Astrobiology Institute
Pages 51-54
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From page 51... ...
Exploring new approaches, using modern information technology, to conduct interdisciplinary and collaborative research among widely distributed investigators; and 5. Supporting outreach by providing scientific content for use in K-12 education programs, teaching undergraduate classes, and communicating directly with the public.
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From page 52... ...
Thus, with respect to the goal of conducting, supporting, and catalyzing collaborative interdisciplinary research, the committee finds that the NAI has: • Successfully promoted interdisciplinary science; • Stimulated many scientific achievements; • Successfully integrated life sciences into NASA programs; • Often effectively leveraged ongoing and new research; • Contributed to the establishment of new astrobiology programs worldwide; and • Supported programs that are widely distributed throughout the United States. The committee makes the following recommendations: • The NAI should improve the accountability of its nodes to the goal of promoting astrobiology as a field of interdisciplinary and collaborative study by instituting better measures of performance and progress; • The NAI should improve the tracking and critical assessment of its publications; and • The NAI should encourage and cultivate relationships with non-NAI astrobiology teams and organizations (e.g., the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life and the Bioastronomy Commission of the International Astronomical Union)
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From page 53... ...
Thus, with respect to the goal of providing scientific and technical leadership on astrobiology investigations for current and future space missions, the committee finds that the NAI has: • Encouraged astrobiologists to provide needed recommendations and expertise to NASA for mission planning and has promoted their participation in the science teams for current and future missions; • Organized activities, such as focus groups, that have strongly influenced NASA missions; and • Identified astrobiology questions that underpin most of NASA's current flight programs. The committee believes that the NAI must remain clearly focused on supporting NASA's spaceflight missions, and so its highest-priority recommendation is as follows: Because its most critical function is to ensure that its portfolio of research activities remains clearly focused on contributing to NASA's current and future spaceflight activities, the NAI should be more proactive in identifying future astrobiology missions and should actively encourage a partnership between astrobiologists and their engineering counterparts to help define future NASA missions.
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From page 54... ...
The committee makes the following recommendations: • The NAI should be more strategic in exploiting synergies in K-12 education, minority education, and teacher training among nodes; and • The NAI should form a focus group and undertake other necessary actions to address the specifics of teaching astrobiology at the undergraduate level. Suggestions as to how these recommendations might be implemented can be found in Chapter 6.
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