Board and Standing Committees:
Activities and Membership
The Board and its standing committees provide strategic direction and oversee activities of ad hoc study committees (see Chapter 3), interact with sponsors, and serve as a communications conduit between the government and the scientific community. They do not provide formal advice and recommendations, and therefore are not subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Section 15.
During 2011, the Space Studies Board (SSB) had five standing committees representing various disciplines: the Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics (CAA; jointly with the Board on Physics and Astronomy, BPA), the Committee on Earth Studies (CES; renamed the Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space [CESAS] in 2012), the Committee on the Origins and Evolution of Life (COEL; jointly with the Board on Life Sciences), the Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX), and the Committee on Solar and Space Physics (CSSP). On September 18, 2011, COMPLEX and COEL were disestablished. The Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science (CAPS), to be established in 2012, will combine the responsibilities formerly exercised by COMPLEX and COEL. Pending NRC approval, the co-chairs and members of CAPS will be identified and appointed in the first quarter of 2012. It is anticipated that the committee’s first meeting will occur during the first or second quarter of 2012.
HIGHLIGHTS OF SPACE STUDIES BOARD ACTIVITIES
The Space Studies Board did not meet during the first quarter of 2011. The spring meeting of the board was held at the beginning of the second quarter on April 6-7 at the National Academies’ Keck Center in Washington, D.C. The first day of the meeting was a joint session of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB) and the SSB at which the boards were updated by and had discussions with a number of NASA representatives, including NASA Administrator Bolden and NASA Chief Scientist Waleed Abdalati; congressional staff; and Executive Office of the President staff. The boards were also briefed by Wendy Kohrt, co-chair of the steering committee for Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era, which was publically released that day. The second day of the meeting included briefings on the programs and budgets for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Geosciences, NOAA/NESDIS, and NASA’s Science Mission Directorate; an update from the European Space Sciences Committee; a briefing from the chair of the planetary science decadal survey (Steve Squyres) and the chair of the astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey (Roger Blandford); and an evaluation of the decadal survey cost appraisal and technical evaluation process by Steve Battel (a member of the astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey committee and the solar and space physics decadal survey committee).
The SSB Executive Committee (XCOM) met on August 18-19 at the Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Oceanographic Institute in La Jolla, California, for its annual strategic planning session. The XCOM met with Carl Wieman (OSTP), Marc Allen (NASA), and Jeff Bingham (Senate staff) to get views from some of their stakeholders. This session included a discussion on the impacts of recent reports, future areas of study for the board, and the role of the board and standing committees. The members also discussed lessons learned and impacts from the decadal surveys, the midterm assessments of the decadal survey process, and the cost and technical risk assessments that have been done for the recent decadal surveys in the context of a workshop to be held in 2012. The XCOM was briefed by Wendy Kohrt, co-chair for the Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space, on the impacts of the report Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration and by Ann Karagozian on the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board report The Future of Launch Vehicles for the U.S. Air Force. XCOM members were also briefed by SSB staff member Sandra Graham on the plans for a generational study on the human spaceflight program, which will be led by the ASEB in cooperation with the SSB and sister boards from the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education.
The SSB met November 8-9, 2011, at the National Academies Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center in Irvine, California, to receive briefings from NASA, representatives of different scientific disciplines, and NRC staff and committee chairs to update them on the progress of current SSB studies. In addition, staff and board members welcomed four new members to the board.
Prior to SSB meeting, the SSB and the BPA held a joint session at the BPA’s board meeting on November 7, where they were briefed by representatives of NASA, NSF, the Department of Energy, and staffers from the relevant committees of the Senate and House of Representatives. Both boards were updated on the progress of the James Webb Space Telescope, which dominated much of the discussion of the two boards over the course of each board’s meeting.
Topics presented to the SSB on November 8 included NASA’s views on access to space for space science (presented by Mike Luther, NASA), hosted payloads (presented by Steven Volz, NASA), and the planning for the human spaceflight study requested in the 2010 NASA Authorization Act.
The final day of the November SSB meeting was dedicated to a session on life and physical sciences research in space, with a focus on research on the International Space Station (ISS). This session followed up on the 2011 release of the joint SSB-ASEB decadal survey on life and physical sciences in space, Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era (available at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13048). With an eye toward stewardship of the decadal survey, the SSB received scientific presentations from David Weitz of Harvard University and Scott Trappe of Ball State University on soft matter research in microgravity and skeletal muscle health with spaceflight, respectively. The session and board meeting concluded with presentations on NASA’s plans for science and engineering on the ISS (presented by Gale Allen, NASA Office of the Chief Scientist) and an overview of the newly created Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications Division by acting director Brad Carpenter.
SPACE STUDIES BOARD MEMBERSHIP
July 1, 2010–June 30, 2011
Charles F. Kennel, University of California, San Diego (chair)
John M. Klineberg,* Space Systems/Loral (retired) (vice chair)
Steven J. Battel, Battel Engineering
Yvonne C. Brill, Aerospace Consultant
Elizabeth R. Cantwell, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Andrew B. Christensen, Dixie State College of Utah
Alan Dressler, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution
Jack D. Fellows, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
July 1, 2011–June 30, 2012
Charles F. Kennel, University of California, San Diego (chair)
John M. Klineberg, Space Systems/Loral (retired) (vice chair)
Mark R. Abbott, Oregon State University
Steven J. Battel, Battel Engineering
Yvonne C. Brill, Aerospace Consultant
Elizabeth R. Cantwell, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Andrew B. Christensen, Dixie State College of Utah
Alan Dressler, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution
Jack D. Fellows, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
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* Term began in February 2011.
Heidi B. Hammel, Space Science Institute
Fiona A. Harrison, California Institute of Technology
Anthony C. Janetos, University of Maryland
Joan Johnson-Freese, Naval War College
Molly K. Macauley, Resources for the Future
John F. Mustard, Brown University
Robert T. Pappalardo, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
James Pawelczyk, Pennsylvania State University
Soroosh Sorooshian, University of California, Irvine
David N. Spergel, Princeton University
Joan Vernikos, Thirdage LLC
Warren M. Washington, National Center for Atmospheric Research
Charles E. Woodward, University of Minnesota
Thomas H. Zurbuchen, University of Michigan
Heidi B. Hammel, AURA
Fiona A. Harrison, California Institute of Technology
Anthony C. Janetos, University of Maryland
Joan Johnson-Freese, Naval War College
Robert P. Lin, University of California, Berkeley*
Molly K. Macauley, Resources for the Future
John F. Mustard, Brown University
Robert T. Pappalardo, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
James Pawelczyk, Pennsylvania State University
Marcia J. Rieke, University of Arizona
David N. Spergel, Princeton University
Warren M. Washington, National Center for Atmospheric Research
Clifford M. Will, Washington University
Thomas H. Zurbuchen, University of Michigan
Ex Officio and Liaison Participants
Raymond S. Colladay, Lockheed Martin Astronautics (retired) (ex-officio, chair, NRC Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board)
Jean-Pierre Swings, Université de Liège (liaison, chair of the European Space Science Committee)
Membership of the SSB Executive Committee
July 1, 2010–June 30, 2011
Charles F. Kennel, University of California, San Diego (chair)
John M. Klineberg,† Space Systems/Loral (retired) (vice chair)
Elizabeth R. Cantwell, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Fiona A. Harrison, California Institute of Technology
Molly K. Macauley, Resources for the Future, Inc.
Robert T. Pappalardo, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Joan Vernikos, Thirdage LLC
Thomas H. Zurbuchen, University of Michigan
July 1, 2011–June 30, 2012
Charles F. Kennel, University of California, San Diego (chair)
John M. Klineberg, Space Systems/Loral (retired) (vice chair)
Mark R. Abbott, Oregon State University
Elizabeth R. Cantwell, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Fiona A. Harrison, California Institute of Technology
Molly K. Macauley, Resources for the Future, Inc.
Robert T. Pappalardo, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Thomas H. Zurbuchen, University of Michigan
Staff in 2011
Michael H. Moloney, Director
Joseph K. Alexander, Senior Program Officer
Arthur A. Charo, Senior Program Officer
Sandra J. Graham, Senior Program Officer
Ian W. Pryke, Senior Program Officer
David H. Smith, Senior Program Officer
Dwayne A. Day, ‡ Program Officer, SSB; then Senior Program Officer, ASEB (promoted in February)
David Lang,‡ Program Officer, BPA
Abigail A. Sheffer, Associate Program Officer
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* Dr. Lin is also the U.S. Representative to COSPAR.
† Term began in February 2011.
‡ Staff from other NRC Boards who are shared with the SSB.
Lewis Groswald, Research Associate
Amanda Thibault,* Research Associate, ASEB
Celeste A. Naylor, Information Management Associate
Tanja E. Pilzak, Manager, Program Operations
Christina O. Shipman, Financial Officer
Sandra Wilson, Senior Financial Assistant
Catherine A. Gruber, Editor
Carmela J. Chamberlain, Administrative Coordinator
Dionna Williams, Program Associate
Terri Baker, Senior Program Assistant
Rodney N. Howard, Senior Program Assistant
Linda M. Walker, Senior Program Assistant
Space Policy Interns
Rachael Alexandroff, 2011 Summer Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Intern
Katie Daud, 2011 Summer Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Intern
Danielle Piskorz, 2011 Fall Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Intern
Christine Mirzayan Fellows
Heather Smith, Winter 2011 Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellow
Anna Williams, Fall 2011 Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellow
U.S. NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR COSPAR
The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) held its annual business meetings in Paris, France, on March 21-24. A major topic of discussion during the meetings of both the COSPAR Scientific Advisory Committee and the Bureau was the proposal raised during the Bremen Assembly of initiating a series of COSPAR Symposia to be held in non-assembly years. The basic motivation for these new events is that the biannual scientific assemblies have grown so big that only developed countries have facilities sufficiently large to host one. The off-year symposia would be formatted and scaled so that developing nations could readily host one. While many arguments were made both for and against the proposed new events, the Bureau decided that the concept had sufficient merit that one would be held as a test case. COSPAR provisionally accepted a proposal from Thailand to host the first COSPAR off-year symposium in 2013. The 39th COSPAR scientific assembly will be held in Mysore, India, on July 14-22, 2012. COSPAR’s 40th scientific assembly will be held in Moscow, Russia, on August 2-10, 2014.
U.S. Representative to COSPAR
Robert P. Lin, University of California, Berkeley
Staff
David H. Smith, Senior Program Officer, SSB (executive secretary for COSPAR)
Carmela J. Chamberlain, Administrative Coordinator, SSB
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* Staff from other NRC Boards who are shared with the SSB.
COMMITTEE ON ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
The Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics, which operates under the joint auspices of the SSB and the BPA, continued to be on hiatus through completion of the astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey. In the first quarter of 2012, CAA will be stood up and members will be appointed. The CAA is expected to meet in Spring 2012.
A historical summary of reports from CAA and related committees is presented in Figure 2.1.
Staff
David Lang, Program Officer, BPA
Lewis Groswald, Research Associate, SSB
Dionna Williams, Program Associate, SSB
The Committee on Earth Studies did not meet during 2011. All membership terms ended on December 31, 2010, although several former members of CES are serving on the ad hoc Committee on the Assessment of NASA’s Earth Science Program (see Chapter 3). The Committee on Earth Studies will be renamed the Committee on Earth Sciences and Applications from Space, and the NRC will stand up this new committee in 2012. Appointments to the committee are expected to be completed by early Spring 2012.
A historical summary of reports from CES and related committees is presented in Figure 2.2.
Staff
Arthur A. Charo, Senior Program Officer, SSB
Lewis Groswald, Research Associate, SSB
Terri Baker, Senior Program Assistant, SSB
COMMITTEE ON THE ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION OF LIFE
The Committee on the Origins and Evolution of Life, which operates under the joint auspices of the SSB and the Board on Life Sciences, held its first meeting of 2011 at the National Academies’ Keck Center in Washington, D.C., on March 2-5. In addition to updates concerning NASA’s Planetary Science Division, Astrobiology Program, and the NASA Astrobiology Institute, the committee heard presentations on a variety of topics, including scientific activities in Antarctica, the latest theoretical studies on martian methane models, the rise of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere, and the use of nucleic acids as bio-markers. In addition, the committee heard a series of different scientific and philosophical perspectives on the recent identification of arsenic-tolerant microbes in Mono Lake and their connection, if any, to the concepts of weird life and shadow biospheres. The committee also discussed NASA’s response to the Mono Lake result and its own future in light of the nascent plans to merge COEL and COMPLEX.
COEL held its 35th and final meeting at the National Academies’ J. Erik Jonsson Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on June 7-8. The scope of the meeting was both retrospective and prospective in that the committee reviewed how exo/astrobiology had been represented in SSB activities over the past 50 years and how it might be handled in the future. Discussions concerning the latter focused on the merger of COEL and COMPLEX to create a new Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science (CAPS). The committee’s discussions were enlivened and enriched by the participation of several former chairs and co-chairs of both COMPLEX and COEL and stimulated by the inclusion of topical agenda items on creationism and the ORIRIS-Rex, SAGE, and EPOXI missions.
All NRC committees are ultimately ephemeral and are best remembered by their legacy of published reports. COEL was particularly active during its 11 years of existence. Its track record of nine full-length studies, including the study on icy bodies in progress (see Chapter 3) and one letter report, is as good as, if not better than, that of any comparable committee during the past decade.
COEL was disestablished on September 18, 2011. Responsibility for astrobiology will be transferred to the SSB’s proposed new CAPS.
A historical summary of reports from COEL and related committees is presented in Figure 2.3.
Membership*
J. Gregory Ferry, Pennsylvania State University (co-chair)
Robert T. Pappalardo, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (co-chair)
Stanley M. Awramik, University of California, Santa Barbara
Katrina J. Edwards, University of Southern California
Margo G. Haygood, University of Colorado, Boulder
Dante Lauretta, University of Arizona
Antonio Lazcano, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
Ralph D. Lorenz, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
Jeff Moersch, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
John C. Priscu, Montana State University
Gary Ruvkin, Masachusetts General Hospital
Barbara Sherwood Lollar, University of Toronto
Everett Shock, Arizona State University
Cristina Takacs-Vesbach, University of New Mexico
European Space Science Committee Liaison
Frances Westall, CNRS Centre de Biophysique Moleculaire, Orleans, France
Staff
David H. Smith, Senior Program Officer, SSB
Rodney N. Howard, Senior Program Assistant, SSB
COMMITTEE ON PLANETARY AND LUNAR EXPLORATION
The Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX) stood down during the conduct of the planetary sciences decadal survey and disestablished on September 18, 2011. Responsibility for planetary science has been transferred to the SSB’s new Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science.
A historical summary of planetary science reports from COMPLEX and related committees is presented in Figure 2.4. Related reports in the area of astrobiology and planetary protection are presented in Figure 2.3.
Staff
Sandra J. Graham, Senior Program Officer, SSB
COMMITTEE ON SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS
The Committee on Solar and Space Physics was on hiatus until the completion of the solar and space physics (heliophysics) decadal survey. The committee will be stood up again in the late Spring or early Summer of 2012.
A historical summary of reports from CSSP and related committees is presented in Figure 2.5.
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* All terms expired on June 30, 2011.
FIGURE 2.4 SSB-NRC advice on solar system exploration (1969-2011). Origins of life topics are covered in Figure 2.3.
Staff
Arthur A. Charo, Senior Program Officer, SSB
Amanda Thibault,* Research Associate, ASEB
Linda M. Walker, Senior Program Assistant, SSB
SPACE RESEARCH DISCIPLINES WITHOUT STANDING
COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION
Although there are no longer standing committees representing microgravity research or space biology and medicine, a decadal survey on biological and physical sciences in space was conducted (see Chapter 3). A historical summary of NRC-SSB advice in space biology and medicine is presented in Figure 2.6, and a historical summary of NRC-SSB advice microgravity research is presented in Figure 2.7.
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* Staff from other NRC Boards who are shared with the SSB.