Space Studies Board Annual Report 2013 (2014) / Chapter Skim
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5.4 Review of the Draft 2014 Science Mission Directorate Science Plan: A Report of the SSB Ad Hoc Committee on the Assessment of the NASA Science Mission Directorate 2014 Science Plan
5.4 Review of the Draft 2014 Science Mission Directorate Science Plan: A Report of the SSB Ad Hoc Committee on the Assessment of the NASA Science Mission Directorate 2014 Science Plan
Pages 52-56
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From page 52... ...
, planetary science, and Earth remote sensing and related activities -- than is possible in the agency-wide Strategic Plan. In conducting its review of the draft Science Plan, the Committee on the Assessment of the NASA Science Mission Directorate 2014 Science Plan was charged to comment on the following specific areas: • Responsiveness to the NRC's guidance on key science issues and opportunities in recent NRC reports; • Attention to interdisciplinary aspects and overall scientific balance; • Identification and exposition of important opportunities for partnerships as well as education and public outreach; • Integration of technology development with the science program; • Clarity on how the plan aligns with SMD's strategic planning process; • General readability and clarity of presentation; and • Other relevant issues as determined by the committee.
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From page 53... ...
Recommendation: The decision processes by which the Science Mission Directorate will make strategic choices impacting the implementation of decadal survey recommendations in the current challenging fiscal environment should be discussed in plain language in the Science Plan. The draft Science Plan does not mention the fact that the cadence of Explorer missions in heliophysics and astrophysics and Discovery missions in planetary science is far below that recommended in the respective decadal surveys.
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From page 54... ...
Earth science, in particular, requires effective coordination and integration of data and models across many disciplines to address the fundamental issues in the Earth system. However, the draft Science Plan lacks a clear strategy for enabling and supporting such inherently interdisciplinary interactions on either the national or international level and does not address the long-term effectiveness of the program in providing measurable progress in answering the overarching questions of Earth system science.
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From page 55... ...
INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT WITH THE SCIENCE PROGRAM As discussed in Chapter 6, the draft Science Plan's treatment of issues relating to technology development and, in particular, the integration of science and technology programs is inconsistent at best and completely absent from the astrophysics and heliophysics sections of the document. The draft Science Plan fails to provide a coherent picture of technology development in SMD and to tie activities in the various disciplines to technology developments recommended in the respective decadal surveys.
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From page 56... ...
One of the most fundamental challenges is the uncertain and apparently decreasing level of available funding for space science in real terms, because this has dramatic and real impacts to plans and execution. This fiscal reality makes it more important than ever for NASA to have a clearly articulated and consistently applied method for prioritizing why and how its scarce fiscal resources will be apportioned with respect to the science program in general and on a more granular level among component scientific disciplines.
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