Space Studies Board Annual Report 2007 (2008) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5.10 NASA's Beyond Einstein Program: An Architecture for Implementation
5.10 NASA's Beyond Einstein Program: An Architecture for Implementation
Pages 97-103
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 97... ...
In 2003, NASA, working with the astronomy and astrophysics communities, prepared a research roadmap entitled Beyond Einstein: From the Big Bang to Black Holes. This roadmap proposed that NASA undertake space missions in five areas in order to study dark energy, black holes, gravitational radiation, and the inflation of the early universe, and to test Einstein's theory of gravitation. Two of the five planned mission areas were Einstein Great Observatories: Constellation-X (Con-X)
|
From page 98... ...
Criteria used by the committee included plans for the maturity of critical mission technology, technical performance margins, schedule margins, risk-mitigation plans, and the proposal's estimated costs versus independent probable cost estimates prepared by the committee. The committee made its recommendations on the basis of the above criteria, but during its deliberations it identified several policy-related issues relevant to the Beyond Einstein Program.
|
From page 99... ...
The committee understands that Con-X has the potential to make strong contributions to Beyond Einstein science through the study of the evolution of supermassive black holes and the mapping of the dynamics of clusters of galaxies. However, other Beyond Einstein missions will address both the measurement of dark energy parameters and tests of strong-field general relativity in a more focused and definitive manner and, as a result, the committee did not choose Con-X as one of the highest priorities for Beyond Einstein funding.
|
From page 100... ...
The principal JDEM science risk, common to many dark energy studies, arises from the need to control systematic uncertainties sufficiently to achieve significantly improved precision. Space measurements have the potential to control observational uncertainties better than ground techniques do, but the space techniques have not yet been demonstrated to the required levels.
|
From page 101... ...
During its proposed 5-year mission, LISA is expected to detect gravitational waves from the merger of massive black holes in the centers of galaxies or stellar clusters at cosmological distances and from stellar-mass compact objects as they orbit and fall into massive black holes. Studying these waves will allow researchers to trace the history of the growth of massive black holes and the formation of galactic structure, to test general relativity in the strong-field dynamical regime, and to determine if the black holes in nature are truly described by the geometry predicted in Einstein's theory.
|
From page 102... ...
While Con-X can make strong contributions to Beyond Einstein science, other BE missions address the measurement of dark energy parameters and tests of strong-field general relativity in a more focused and definitive manner. Finding 3. Two mission areas stand out for the directness with which they address Beyond Einstein goals and their potential for broader scientific impact: LISA and JDEM.
|
From page 103... ...
The current Beyond Einstein budget profile will not support technology development beyond JDEM and LISA. The committee did not develop a priority order for the remaining mission areas and believes that all their component missions require additional technology maturity before they can be fully evaluated.
|
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.