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ASSESSMENT OF NASAâS DRAFT 2003 SPACE SCIENCE ENTERPRISE STRATEGY 8 The Board also believes that integration of astrobiology into the document can be improved by clarifying the definition of âastrobiologyâ and its value as a unifying theme. The Exobiology R&A program and the NASA Astrobiology Institute support unique programs to investigate the transition from simple organic compounds to the simplest forms of living matter. A better understanding of how life emerges from prebiotic chemistry is essential for knowing what to look for as we search for other environments in which life may have originated. Earth-based projects have the power to inform us about how to interpret the organic chemistry of Titan and of cometary material in an effort to understand the starting materials available on early Earth. This research provides an example of balance across themes, but the Board cautions that knowing everything about the sources and kinds of organic material in the universe is not equivalent to achieving a full understanding about the origin of life, which may have occurred independently more than once. Another example already highlighted in the document, under âObjective: Determine the characteristics of the solar system that led to the origin of lifeâ (page 26), is the Astrobiology programâs study of life in extreme environments. Discoveries of eukaryotic and prokaryotic extremophiles âcoupled with a fuller understanding of the range of possible conditions on other planetary bodies, have significantly expanded our view of the number of environments within our solar system that might be, or might have been, conducive to life.â18 The Board suggests that such discoveries warrant mention in the list of major accomplishments and offer a wonderful example of how the OSS draft document should use cross-cutting themes, supported by the OSS, to illustrate the benefits of interdisciplinary research. Balance Within Themes The Board has often urged NASA to foster a balance between R&A, data analysis (DA) programs, and spacecraft missions,19 and the Board appreciates the OSSâs reference to the functions of research and analysis programs, as noted in the 1998 NRC report Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASAâs Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis.20 The Board recognizes that fostering and sustaining an appropriate mix among the program elements requires continuous adjustments, and the Board notes specific opportunities to improve the balance. Section 4.1.2 (Scientific Research and Analysis) of the OSS document cites the synergy between R&A, DA, and missions, but it emphasizes the development and flight-testing of advanced detector and instrument systems for particular missions and provides scant attention to ground-based research. Acknowledging the integral importance of laboratory-based and theory-based programs or DA programs for major themes in the OSS document would help establish a better balance between mission programs and their scientific underpinnings and results. The decadal surveys recommended that significant theory, modeling, and other components of research and data analysis activities are necessary for a vital science program. For example, the AA survey recommended that 2 to 3 percent of the cost of flight projects be devoted to theory.21 The SSE survey recommended âan increase over the decade in the funding for fundamental Research and Analysis programs at a rate above inflation to a level that is consistent with the augmented number of missions, amount of data, and diversity of objects studied.â22 Further, the SSP survey recommended several âVitality Programsâ that address theory, computation, and data
