National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Report ." National Research Council. 1996. On Scientific Assessment of NASA's Solar System Exploration Roadmap: Letter Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12281.
×
Page 1
Suggested Citation:"Report ." National Research Council. 1996. On Scientific Assessment of NASA's Solar System Exploration Roadmap: Letter Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12281.
×
Page 2
Suggested Citation:"Report ." National Research Council. 1996. On Scientific Assessment of NASA's Solar System Exploration Roadmap: Letter Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12281.
×
Page 3
Suggested Citation:"Report ." National Research Council. 1996. On Scientific Assessment of NASA's Solar System Exploration Roadmap: Letter Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12281.
×
Page 4
Suggested Citation:"Report ." National Research Council. 1996. On Scientific Assessment of NASA's Solar System Exploration Roadmap: Letter Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12281.
×
Page 5
Suggested Citation:"Report ." National Research Council. 1996. On Scientific Assessment of NASA's Solar System Exploration Roadmap: Letter Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12281.
×
Page 6

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

Space Studies Board Jump to Top Search: NewsJump to Science in the Subscribe to our FREE e- Headlines newsletter! NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL June 18, 2004 Current Operating Status On Scientific Assessment of NASA's Solar System Exploration Roadmap Membership Report On August 23, 1996, Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration Chair Ronald Greeley and Space Studies Board Chair Claude R. Canizares sent the following letter report to NASA Science Program Director for Solar System Exploration Jurgen Rahe. In your letter of March 26, 1996, you requested that the Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX) assess NASA's Solar System Exploration Roadmap 1s and report on the degree to which the Roadmap is responsive to the scientific priorities outlined in past National Research Council (NRC) reports. COMPLEX understands that you need this assessment by September 1, 1996, because the Roadmap is an integral part of a new solar system exploration strategic plan to be developed by NASA this fall. As you requested, the assessment was conducted at COMPLEX's June 24-28, 1996, meeting held at the National Academies' Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center. The assessment was based on material sent to committee members for review prior to the meeting, extensive briefings by Dr. Larry Soderblom of the Roadmap development team, and subsequent discussions in executive session throughout the week of the meeting. COMPLEX finds the goals and objectives set forth in the Roadmap to be generally consistent with the recommendations and priorities contained in past NRC reports, including An Integrated Strategy for the Planetary Sciences: 1995-2010 ,2 The Search for Life's Origins: Progress and Future Directions in Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution, 3 and Origin and Evolution of Life—Implications for the Planets: A Scientific Strategy for the 1980s. 4 Moreover, the fact that the Roadmap was developed jointly by scientists and technologists is a strength consistent with recommendations in the 1995 NRC report Managing the Space Sciences. 5 http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/rdmpmenu.html (1 of 3) [6/18/2004 9:21:31 AM]

Space Studies Board COMPLEX's general assessment of the Roadmap is that it outlines a rich and ambitious program of planetary exploration through the year 2012. In particular, COMPLEX commends the Roadmap development team for adopting an approach to planetary exploration advocated by the Integrated Strategy, that is, systematically addressing key physical and chemical processes rather than taking the more traditional approach of cataloging and classifying planetary bodies. It is, however, important for the Roadmap's scientific objectives to be brought into sharper focus with some indication of priorities for study and critical measurements to be made. Although COMPLEX recognizes that NASA committees will be charged with identifying priority mission sets, it notes that the Roadmap, in its current form, provides no obvious framework within which such priorities can be set. COMPLEX also notes that the Integrated Strategy's highest priorities for solar system exploration, i.e., intensive studies of comets, Mars, and the Jupiter system, are not singled out for special attention, although all are, admittedly, included in the Roadmap. Three other specific issues that COMPLEX wishes to raise here concern the quests related to human destiny and life's origins and the issue of nonflight programs. The human destiny quest is disconnected from the actual proposed campaigns and their scientific objectives. The connection should be clearly stated in the Roadmap report. The quest regarding life's origins is recognized as a high priority in previous NRC studies, 6,7 but it is essential that the Roadmap's stated expectations for fulfilling the quest not be exaggerated. This part of the Roadmap report should be carefully assessed to ensure that it rests on realistic statements. COMPLEX also notes that the Roadmap does not recognize the role of nonflight programs. Although their exclusion may have been a consequence of the Roadmap development team's charter, it is clear that laboratory experiments, modeling, Earth- and space-based telescopic observations, and field studies are essential to an understanding of the solar system, as documented in NRC reports. 8,9,10 Despite these shortcomings and other criticisms outlined in the accompanying Assessment, the program of planetary exploration described in the Roadmap has both significant potential for scientific discovery and the prospect of wide public appeal. The Space Studies Board and COMPLEX recognize that the Roadmap is an evolving document and that modifications will be made in response to changing circumstances and new developments (e.g., the recent announcement of the possible discovery of microfossils in a martian meteorite). Accordingly, we offer our services to you should you wish a review of a later draft of the Roadmap. In addition, the SSB and COMPLEX, in particular, look forward to the implementation of the Roadmap and will be pleased to review this phase of the solar system exploration program at an appropriate time. REFERENCES 1. Roadmap Development Team, Mission to the Solar System: Exploration and http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/rdmpmenu.html (2 of 3) [6/18/2004 9:21:31 AM]

Space Studies Board Discovery—A Mission and Technology Roadmap (Version A), Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, June 21, 1996. 2. Space Studies Board, National Research Council, An Integrated Strategy for the Planetary Sciences: 1995-2010, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1994. 3. Space Studies Board, National Research Council, The Search for Life's Origins: Progress and Future Directions in Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1990. 4. Space Science Board, National Research Council, Origin and Evolution of Life—Implications for the Planets: A Scientific Strategy for the 1980s, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1981. 5. Space Studies Board, National Research Council, Managing the Space Sciences, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1995. 6. Space Studies Board, National Research Council, An Integrated Strategy for the Planetary Sciences: 1995-2010, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1994, pp. 58-61. 7. Space Studies Board, National Research Council, The Search for Life's Origins: Progress and Future Directions in Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1990. 8. Space Studies Board, National Research Council, An Integrated Strategy for the Planetary Sciences: 1995-2010, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1994. 9. Space Studies Board, National Research Council, The Search for Life's Origins: Progress and Future Directions in Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1990. 10. Space Science Board, National Research Council, Origin and Evolution of Life—Implications for the Planets: A Scientific Strategy for the 1980s, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1981. Last update 2/10/00 at 2:03 pm Site managed by the SSB Web Group. To comment on this Web page or report an error, please send feedback to the Space Studies Board. Subscribe to e-newsletters | Feedback | Back to Top Copyright © 2004. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. 500 Fifth St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/rdmpmenu.html (3 of 3) [6/18/2004 9:21:31 AM]

Space Studies Board Jump to Top Search: NewsJump to Science in the Subscribe to our FREE e- Headlines newsletter! NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL June 18, 2004 Current Operating Status On Scientific Assessment of NASA's Solar System Exploration Roadmap MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE ON PLANETARY AND LUNAR EXPLORATION RONALD GREELEY, Arizona State University, Chair JAMES ARNOLD, University of California, San Diego FRANCES BAGENAL, University of Colorado JEFFREY R. BARNES, Oregon State University PHILIP R. CHRISTENSEN, Arizona State University RUSSELL DOOLITTLE, University of California, San Diego HEIDI HAMMEL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology GEORGE McGILL, University of Massachusetts HARRY McSWEEN, University of Tennessee TED ROUSH, San Francisco State University JOHN RUMMEL, Marine Biological Laboratory GERALD SCHUBERT, University of California, Los Angeles EUGENE SHOEMAKER, U.S. Geological Survey DARRELL F. STROBEL, Johns Hopkins University ALAN T. TOKUNAGA, University of Hawaii ROGER YELLE, Boston University MARIA T. ZUBER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Staff DAVID H. SMITH, Study Director ALTORIA B. ROSS, Senior Program Assistant SPACE STUDIES BOARD CLAUDE R. CANIZARES, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chair MARK ABBOTT, Oregon State University http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/rdmpmem.html (1 of 3) [6/18/2004 9:21:38 AM]

Space Studies Board JOHN A. ARMSTRONG,* IBM Corporation (retired) JAMES P. BAGIAN, Environmental Protection Agency DANIEL N. BAKER, University of Colorado LAWRENCE BOGORAD, Harvard University DONALD E. BROWNLEE, University of Washington JOHN J. DONEGAN, John Donegan Associates, Inc. ANTHONY W. ENGLAND, University of Michigan DANIEL J. FINK,* D.J. Fink Associates, Inc. MARTIN E. GLICKSMAN, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute RONALD GREELEY, Arizona State University BILL GREEN, former member, U.S. House of Representatives NOEL W. HINNERS,* Lockheed Martin Astronautics JANET G. LUHMANN, University of California, Berkeley JOHN H. McELROY,* University of Texas, Arlington ROBERTA BALSTAD MILLER, Consortium for International Earth Sciences Information Networks BERRIEN MOORE III, University of New Hampshire MARY JANE OSBORN, University of Connecticut Health Center SIMON OSTRACH, Case Western Reserve University CARLÉ M. PIETERS, Brown University MARCIA J. RIEKE, University of Arizona ROLAND SCHMITT,* Clifton Park, New York JOHN A. SIMPSON, University of Chicago ROBERT E. WILLIAMS, Space Telescope Science Institute MARC S. ALLEN, Director *Former member. COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS ROBERT J. HERMANN, United Technologies Corporation, Co-Chair W. CARL LINEBERGER, University of Colorado, Co-Chair PETER M. BANKS, Environmental Research Institute of Michigan LAWRENCE D. BROWN, University of Pennsylvania RONALD G. DOUGLAS, Texas A&M University JOHN E. ESTES, University of California, Santa Barbara L. LOUIS HEGEDUS, Elf Atochem North America, Inc. JOHN E. HOPCROFT, Cornell University RHONDA J. HUGHES, Bryn Mawr College SHIRLEY A. JACKSON, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission KENNETH H. KELLER, Council on Foreign Relations KENNETH I. KELLERMANN, National Radio Astronomy Observatory KEN KENNEDY, Rice University MARGARET KIVELSON, University of California, Los Angeles DANIEL KLEPPNER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/rdmpmem.html (2 of 3) [6/18/2004 9:21:38 AM]

Space Studies Board JOHN KREICK, Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company MARSHA I. LESTER, University of Pennsylvania THOMAS A. PRINCE, California Institute of Technology NICHOLAS P. SAMIOS, Brookhaven National Laboratory L.E. SCRIVEN, University of Minnesota SHMUEL WINOGRAD, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center CHARLES A. ZRAKET, The MITRE Corporation (retired) NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director Last update 2/10/00 at 2:20 pm Site managed by Anne Simmons, Space Studies Board Site managed by the SSB Web Group. To comment on this Web page or report an error, please send feedback to the Space Studies Board. Subscribe to e-newsletters | Feedback | Back to Top Copyright © 2004. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. 500 Fifth St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/rdmpmem.html (3 of 3) [6/18/2004 9:21:38 AM]

On Scientific Assessment of NASA's Solar System Exploration Roadmap: Letter Report Get This Book
×
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF
  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!