Space Studies Board Annual Report 2014 (2015)

2
Board and Standing Committees:
Activities and Membership

The Space Studies Board (SSB) and its standing committees provide strategic direction and oversee activities of its 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 2014, the SSB had five standing committees representing various disciplines: the Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science (CAPS), the Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics (CAA; jointly with the Board on Physics and Astronomy, BPA), the Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space (CESAS), the Committee on Solar and Space Physics (CSSP), and, created in August of 2014, the Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space (CBPSS; jointly with the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, ASEB).

SPACE STUDIES BOARD

HIGHLIGHTS OF SPACE STUDIES BOARD ACTIVITIES

The Space Studies Board held its spring meeting on April 3-4, 2014, at the Keck Center of the National Academies in Washington, D.C. April 3 was a joint session with the ASEB where both boards participated in a roundtable discussion with the NASA chiefs (David Miller, NASA Chief Technologist; Ralph Roe, NASA Chief Engineer; and Ellen Stofan, NASA Chief Scientist), followed by an update from and discussion with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. The boards then participated in a discussion with representatives from the White House, Grace Hu and Paul Shawcross from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Richard Dalbello from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The boards also received an update on the activities of NASA’s Human Explorations and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) and held a discussion with William Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator of HEOMD. On April 4, the SSB heard updates from the leadership of the four standing committees in its purview at the time—CAA, CAPS, CESAS, and CSSP (see more information on the standing committees below). The Board was updated on the activities of the European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC) by Jean Pierre Swings (current ESSC chair) and Athena Coustenis (chair-elect) and on the activities of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) by the U.S. COSPAR Representative Len Fisk. The Board also received updates from and participated in a roundtable discussion with John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and the SMD division directors or their representatives. Finally, the Board received an update from and participated in a discussion with Kathryn Sullivan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator on NOAA’s Earth observation and space weather programs.

The Executive Committee (XCOM) of the SSB met July 2-3, 2014, at the J. Erik Jonsson Conference Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. XCOM members were briefed by the SSB standing committee chairs, representatives

from the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) Science Committee, NASA SMD, Congress, and OSTP on what were the most pressing views and issues from each of their perspectives. This led to a discussion by all attendees about where the SSB and the standing committees might provide input or advice on those issues. The XCOM was also briefed on several ad hoc activities of the Board, including the report from the Committee on Human Spaceflight, Pathways to Exploration: Rationales and Approaches for a U.S. Program of Human Space Exploration (briefed by Committee Co-Chair Mitch Daniels); the study on Lessons Learned in Decadal Planning in Space Science (briefed by Committee Chair Alan Dressler); the workshop on Sharing the Adventure with the Student: Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education (briefed by Planning Committee Co-Chair Phil Christensen); and the upcoming decadal survey on Earth science and applications from space (briefed by CESAS Chair Mark Abbott). On July 8, the full Board held a teleconference with John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator, NASA SMD, and Stephanie Stockman, Education/Public Outreach lead, NASA SMD, to discuss the current budget situation and changes to SMD’s education and outreach programs.

The SSB held its fall meeting on November 5-6, 2014, at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center of the National Academies in Irvine, California. On the first day of the meeting, the Board heard reports from the chairs of the standing committees, including CAA, CAPS, CESAS, CSSP, and CBPSS, and then discussed the upcoming National Research Council (NRC) Space Science Week (see the section “Standing Committees” below). The Board was then briefed on international activities, including COSPAR (David Smith, Executive Secretary for COSPAR) and recent ESSC activities (Jean Pierre Swings and Athena Coustenis, the outgoing and incoming chairs of the ESSC, respectively). The Board next discussed current and future SSB activities, including the status of the 2014 workshop, “Sharing the Adventure with the Student”; a potential study on the current state of space law; and the next decadal survey on Earth science and applications from space. The Board was briefed by Robert Lightfoot and Lesa Roe from NASA on NASA’s Technical Capability Assessment and Capability Leadership Models. The first day ended with a focus session on the scope and nature of future mid-term decadal reviews, which included a presentation from Stacey Boland (former member of the Committee on the Assessment of NASA’s Earth Science Program) on the process and outcomes of that mid-term decadal review; a presentation from Marc Allen, NASA, on issues of the day from NASA’s point of view; and a panel discussion with representatives of each of the completed decadal mid-term reviews (Stacey Boland, Earth science; Megan Donahue, astronomy and astrophysics; Rod Heelis, heliophysics; and Wes Huntress, planetary science). The second day of the meeting started with a teleconference with John Grunsfeld, NASA SMD, during which he discussed potential future projects with the Board, and a presentation from Marc Allen on NASA’s perspectives from the meeting and the SSB’s future agenda, followed by a discussion between the Board and Dr. Allen on potential future activities. The Board then heard from Chris Scolese, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), on his perspectives on mission management and lessons learned at GSFC.

Visit http://www.nas.edu/ssb to stay up to date on board, workshop, and study committee meetings and developments.

SPACE STUDIES BOARD MEMBERSHIP

July 1, 2013–June 30, 2014

Charles F. Kennel, University of California, San Diego (chair)

John M. Klineberg, Space Systems/Loral (retired) (vice chair)

Mark R. Abbott, Oregon State University

James Anderson, Harvard University

James Bagian, University of Michigan

Joseph Fuller, Jr., Futron Corporation

Thomas R. Gavin, California Institute of Technology

July 1, 2014–June 30, 2015

David N. Spergel, Princeton University (chair)

John M. Klineberg,¹ Space Systems/Loral (retired) (vice chair)

Robert D. Braun,² Georgia Institute of Technology (vice chair)

Mark R. Abbott, Oregon State University

James Anderson, Harvard University

James Bagian, University of Michigan

Jeff M. Bingham, Consultant

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¹ Ended October 31, 2014.

² Began November 1, 2014.

Neil Gehrels, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Sarah Gibson, National Center for Atmospheric Research

Heidi B. Hammel, AURA

Roderick Heelis, University of Texas, Dallas

Joseph S. Hezir, EOP Group, Inc.

Wesley T. Huntress, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Anthony C. Janetos, University of Maryland

Joan Johnson-Freese, Naval War College

John F. Mustard, Brown University

Dava J. Newman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Robert T. Pappalardo, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

Saul Perlmutter, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Marcia J. Rieke, University of Arizona

David N. Spergel, Princeton University

Meenakshi Wadhwa, Arizona State University

Clifford M. Will, University of Florida

Thomas H. Zurbuchen, University of Michigan

Penelope J. Boston, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Joseph Fuller, Jr., Futron Corporation

Thomas R. Gavin, California Institute of Technology

Neil Gehrels, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Sarah Gibson, National Center for Atmospheric Research

Roderick Heelis, University of Texas, Dallas

Wesley T. Huntress, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Anthony C. Janetos, Boston University

Dava J. Newman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Saul Perlmutter, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Louise M. Prockter, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory

Marcia J. Rieke, University of Arizona

Mark Thiemens, University of California, San Diego

Meenakshi Wadhwa, Arizona State University

Clifford M. Will, University of Florida

Thomas H. Zurbuchen, University of Michigan

Ex Officio and Liaison Participants

Lennard A. Fisk,³ University of Michigan (liaison; U.S. Representative to COSPAR)

Lester Lyles, The Lyles Group (ex-officio; chair, NRC Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board)

Jean-Pierre Swings,⁴ Université de Liège (liaison; chair, European Space Science Committee)

Athena Coustenis,⁵ National Centre for Scientific Research of France (liaison; chair, European Space Science Committee)

Membership of the SSB Executive Committee

July 1, 2013–June 30, 2014

Charles F. Kennel, University of California, San Diego (chair)

John M. Klineberg, Space Systems/Loral (retired) (vice chair)

Mark R. Abbott, Oregon State University

Joseph S. Hezir, EOP Group, Inc.

Dava J. Newman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Robert T. Pappalardo, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

Marcia J. Rieke, University of Arizona

Thomas H. Zurbuchen, University of Michigan

July 1, 2014–June 30, 2015

David N. Spergel, Princeton University (chair)

John M. Klineberg,⁶ Space Systems/Loral (retired) (vice chair)

Robert D. Braun,⁷ Georgia Institute of Technology (vice chair)

Mark R. Abbott, Oregon State University

Wesley T. Huntress, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Dava J. Newman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Marcia J. Rieke, University of Arizona

Thomas H. Zurbuchen, University of Michigan

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³ Through August 2014.

⁴ Through November 2014.

⁵ Began in November 2014.

⁶ Ended October 31, 2014.

⁷ Began November 1, 2014.

Staff in 2014

Michael H. Moloney, Director for Space and Aeronautics

Arthur A. Charo, Senior Program Officer

Sandra J. Graham, Senior Program Officer

Ian W. Pryke, Senior Program Officer (through April 18)

David H. Smith, Senior Program Officer

Dwayne A. Day,^* Senior Program Officer, ASEB

David Lang,^* Program Officer, BPA

Abigail A. Sheffer,⁸ Associate Program Officer

Lewis Groswald, Associate Program Officer (through June 20)

Katie Daud, Research Associate (from September 22)

Celeste A. Naylor, Information Management Associate

Tanja E. Pilzak, Manager, Program Operations

Christina O. Shipman, Financial Officer (through October 31)

Meg A. Knemeyer, Financial Officer

Sandra Wilson, Senior Financial Assistant

Carmela J. Chamberlain, Administrative Coordinator

Andrea Rebholz,^* Program Coordinator

Dionna Williams, Program Coordinator

Anesia Wilks, Senior Program Assistant

Space Policy Interns

Evan Linck, 2014 Summer Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Intern

Ian Szumila, 2014 Summer Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Intern

Angela Dapremont, 2014 Fall Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Intern

Jesse D. Lively, 2014 Fall Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Intern

Michelle Thompson, 2014 Fall Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Intern

U.S. NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR COSPAR

The International Council for Science’s COSPAR held its 40th Scientific Assembly at Lomonsov Moscow State University, Russia, on August 2-10, 2014. The event was notable for two reasons. First, Lennard A. Fisk, the U.S. representative to COSPAR, stood for and was elected as the organization’s president—the first American to hold this position in COSPAR’s 50-plus years of existence. Second, a group based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Caltech proposed that COSPAR’s 42nd Scientific Assembly be held in Pasadena, California, in 2018. Following stiff competition from a rival group based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and a series of contested votes, the Pasadena group was finally selected as the host of the 2018 event. The last COSPAR Scientific Assembly held in the United States was in Houston, Texas, in 2002.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, following the completion of the Moscow Scientific Assembly, the SSB, acting in its role as the U.S. National Committee for COSPAR, began work to identify a new U.S. representative to COSPAR. A highly suitable candidate was identified in the waning days of 2014, and it is anticipated that a new U.S. representative will be formally appointed early in 2015.

The final quarter of 2014 also saw significant progress in the completion of the preliminary arrangements for the 2018 assembly. The Pasadena local organizing committee is being led by Gregg Vane, senior executive advisor for strategic planning in the Solar System Exploration Directorate at JPL. Meanwhile, Thomas Prince, director of Caltech’s Keck Institute for Space Studies, and Rosaly Lopes, senior research scientist and deputy manager for planetary science at JPL, have been nominated as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Pasadena assembly’s science program committee.

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⁸ Promoted to Program Officer in 2015.

^* Staff from other NRC Boards who are shared with the SSB.

Looking forward, COSPAR will hold its annual series of business meetings at its headquarters in Paris, France, on March 23-26, 2015; the second of the new series of COSPAR Symposia will be held in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, on November 9-13, 2015; and the 41st and 42nd COSPAR Scientific Assemblies will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 30-August 7, 2016, and Pasadena, California, on July14-21, 2018, respectively.

U.S. Representative to COSPAR

Lennard A. Fisk,⁹ University of Michigan

Staff

David H. Smith, Senior Program Officer, SSB (Executive Secretary for COSPAR)

Carmela J. Chamberlain, Administrative Coordinator, SSB

STANDING COMMITTEES

NRC Space Science Week was held March 3-5, 2014, at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C. Four of the SSB’s active standing committees met in parallel; CBPSS was not established at this time (see descriptions of the individual standing committee meetings below). On the afternoon of March 3, the standing committees conducted a plenary session at which there was a keynote presentation on the “Current State of Play at SMD” by John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator for NASA SMD, and a session on the “Views from Congress” by Tom Hammond and Pamela Whitney from the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. The day culminated with a focus session on international planning in space science, which was moderated by Charles Kennel (the SSB Chair at that time) and included a panel discussion with John Grunsfeld (NASA), Alvaro Giménez (European Space Agency), Wu Ji (Chinese Academy of Sciences), and Saku Tsuneta (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and incoming SSB Chair David Spergel. To view the NRC Space Science Week public lecture by Sara Seager, “Exoplanets and the Real Search for Alien Life,” visit http://sites.nationalacademies.org/SSB/SSB_086846.

COMMITTEE ON ASTROBIOLOGY AND PLANETARY SCIENCE

CAPS met on March 3-5, 2014, as part of NRC Space Science Week. The committee welcomed three new members to its ranks: Ronald Breaker (Yale University), Norman Pace (University of Colorado), and Mark Saunders (NASA Langley Research Center, retired). The committee heard detailed updates on the activities of NASA’s Planetary Science Division (PSD), with particular attention paid to PSD’s Research and Analysis and Astrobiology programs. In addition, the committee was briefed on the current state of development of the Mars 2020 rover mission and the status of planning for a future Europa mission. The committee also heard science presentations on the “RNA world” and the purported discovery of plumes emanating from Europa’s southern polar region. The committee held extensive discussions of the current status of planetary science and astrobiology activities within NASA with particular emphasis on the consistency between these activities and those recommended in the most recent planetary science decadal survey and related NRC reports. These discussions led to the drafting of summary notes by the committee’s co-chairs for presentation at the April meeting of the SSB. Although CAPS did not hold an in-person meeting during the second quarter of 2014, the committee did welcome a new member to its ranks, James Kasting (Pennsylvania State University).

CAPS held its second and final in-person meeting on September 3-4, 2014, at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center of the National Academies in Irvine, California. This meeting included several joint sessions (conducted via webcasts) with the Planetary Science Subcommittee of the NAC. The committee heard a status report on PSD’s activities from its director, James L. Green. Other PSD officials provided program updates concerning the Mars Exploration Program, the Outer Planets Program, the Near-Earth Object Observation Program, the Astrobiology Program, and planning for the Mars 2020 mission. CAPS also heard presentations from the leaders of several of PSD’s community-based analysis groups, including the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group, the Mars Exploration

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⁹ Through August 2014.

Program Analysis Group, the Outer Planets Assessment Group, and the Small Bodies Assessment Group. The committee heard an update on the Juno mission from Scott Bolton (Southwest Research Institute) and a presentation on planetary protection issues from Eugene Levy, chair of the NAC’s Planetary Protection Subcommittee. Finally, CAPS heard presentations on organic contamination issues associated with the Mars 2020 mission from David Beaty (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and thoughts on astrobiology, the NASA Astrobiology Institute, and virtual institutes from Simon P. Worden (NASA Ames Research Center).

A historical summary of a selection of NRC-SSB advisory reports on astrobiology and planetary protection is presented in Figure 2.1. A historical summary of a selection of NRC-SSB advisory reports on solar system exploration is presented in Figure 2.2.

Membership

Philip R. Christensen, Arizona State University (co-chair)

J. Gregory Ferry, Pennsylvania State University (co-chair)

Sushil K. Atreya, University of Michigan

Amy C. Barr, Independent Consultant

Richard P. Binzel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Ronald Breaker,^† Yale University

John Clarke, Boston University

Geoffrey Collins, Wheaton College

Pascale Ehrenfreund, George Washington University

Linda T. Elkins-Tanton, Arizona State University

G. Scott Hubbard,^‡ Stanford University

James F. Kasting,¹⁰ Pennsylvania State University

Laurie A. Leshin,¹¹ Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Stephen Mackwell, Lunar and Planetary Institute

Norman R. Pace,^† University of Colorado, Boulder

Michael Russell,^‡ Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Gary Ruvkun, Massachusetts General Hospital

Mark P. Saunders,^† Independent Consultant

Gerald Schubert, University of California, Los Angeles

Barbara Sherwood Lollar,^‡ University of Toronto

Norman H. Sleep, Stanford University

Cristina Takacs-Vesbach, University of New Mexico

Roger V. Yelle, University of Arizona

Staff

David H. Smith, Senior Program Officer, SSB

Abigail Sheffer,¹² Associate Program Officer, SSB

Andrea Rebholz,^* Program Coordinator, ASEB

COMMITTEE ON ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS

CAA, which operates under the joint auspices of the SSB and the BPA, met on March 3-5, 2014, in Washington, D.C., as part of NRC Space Science Week. CAA received briefings from and held discussions with Jim Ulvestad

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¹⁰ Became a member in March 2014.

¹¹ Resigned from committee in December 2014.

¹² Promoted to Program Officer in 2015.

^† Became a member in February 2014.

^‡ Term ended in 2014.

^* Staff from other NRC Boards who are shared with the SSB.

FIGURE 2.1 NRC-SSB advice associated with CAPS—astrobiology and planetary protection (1965-2014).

FIGURE 2.2 NRC-SSB advice associated with CAPS—solar system exploration (1969-2014). Origins of life topics are covered in Figure 2.1.

on activities of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) Division of Astronomical Sciences; Kathy Turner on the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) High Energy Physics programs; George Ricker (Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT]) on the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS); Eric Smith (NASA) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST); Paul Hertz on the NASA Astrophysics Division’s activities; Neil Gehrels and Kevin Grady (NASA) on the interim report of the Science Definition Team for the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST)-Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (AFTA) mission; Karl Stapelfeldt (NASA) on the EXO-C coronagraph mission science definition team interim report; and Sara Seager (MIT) on the EXO-S mission science definition team interim report. Prior to its Space Science Week meeting, the committee also held a teleconference with Paul Hertz, Director of NASA’s Astrophysics Division, on February 11, 2014, to discuss the status of the Explorer [mission class] program.

CAA did not meet during the second quarter. However, in July the committee held a teleconference with NSF Astronomy Division staff to discuss a proposed new policy to encourage proposers to limit the number of proposals they submit to the grants program.

CAA met again in person on November 3-4, 2014, at the Beckman Center in Irvine, California, and received an update on JWST from Eric Smith; a briefing on the NRC report Evaluation of the Implementation of WFIRST/AFTA in the Context of New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the study’s chair, Fiona Harrison; and an update on the WFIRST/AFTA Science Definition Team from Neil Gehrels. NASA, NSF, and DOE updates were provided to the committee as well. There was much discussion with NASA, NSF, and DOE on the mid-decadal study, which focused on the timing, scope, charge, expected outcomes, and impact of the study. Paul Hertz discussed preparation for the 2020 decadal survey with the committee. The second day of the meeting included updates on planning for the International Astronomical Union General Assembly and the ongoing NRC ground-based optical and infrared study. The committee also discussed the draft NASA astrophysics implementation plan.

A historical summary of a selection of NRC-SSB advisory reports on astronomy and astrophysics is presented in Figure 2.3.

Membership

Paul L. Schechter, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (co-chair)

Marcia Reike,¹³ University of Arizona (co-chair)

David N. Spergel,^‡ Princeton University (co-chair)

Jeremiah K. Darling, University of Colorado, Boulder

Megan Donahue, Michigan State University

Debra Fischer,¹⁴ Yale University

Joshua A. Frieman, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and University of Chicago

Charles F. Gammie,^‡ University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Timothy M. Heckman, Johns Hopkins University

Lynne Hillenbrand, California Institute of Technology

Robert P. Kirshner,^‡ Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Christopher F. McKee, University of California, Berkeley

Rene A. Ong, University of California, Los Angeles

Eve C. Ostriker,^‡ Princeton University

James M. Stone,¹⁵ Princeton University

Alexey Vikhlinin,¹⁶ Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

J. Craig Wheeler, University of Texas, Austin

Eric M. Wilcots, University of Wisconsin, Madison

A. Thomas Young, Lockheed Martin Corporation (retired)

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¹³ Became co-chair on October 6, 2014.

¹⁴ Resigned from committee in November 2014.

¹⁵ Became a member in October 2014.

¹⁶ Became a member in October 2014.

^‡ Term ended in 2014.

FIGURE 2.3 NRC-SSB advice associated with CAA—astronomy and astrophysics (1979-2014).

Staff

David B. Lang, Senior Program Officer, BPA

Lewis Groswald, Associate Program Officer, SSB (through June 20)

Dionna Williams, Program Coordinator, SSB

Katie Daud, Research Associate, SSB

COMMITTEE ON BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES IN SPACE

In March 2014, Betsy Cantwell (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) and Rob Ferl (University of Florida) were appointed as co-chairs to CBPSS, a new standing committee of the SSB and the ASEB. The overarching purpose of the new committee is to support scientific progress in space research in the biological, medical, and physical sciences and assist the federal government in integrating and planning programs in these fields. CBPSS provides an independent, authoritative forum for identifying and discussing issues in space life and physical sciences between the research community, the federal government, and the interested public. CBPSS also monitors the progress in implementation of the recommendations of the decadal survey Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era (published in 2011).

During the second quarter of 2014, recommended candidates for membership on CBPSS were reviewed with the committee co-chairs, and a slate was selected for nomination. During this period, staff officer Sandra Graham attended the Third Annual International Space Station (ISS) Research and Development Conference on June 17-19 in Chicago, Illinois, and Co-Chair Betsy Cantwell participated in an ISS Science Forum on May 21 at NASA Johnson Space Center.

Member appointments were completed for the committee in August, and plans were made for the first meeting of the committee, which was held on October 7-8, 2014, at the Keck Center in Washington, D.C. The first meeting focused on presentations from and discussion with NASA regarding the content and plans for various research programs within NASA’s Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications Division.

A historical summary of a selection of NRC-SSB advisory reports on space biology and medicine is presented in Figure 2.4, and a historical summary of a selection of NRC-SSB advisory reports on microgravity research is presented in Figure 2.5.

Membership¹⁷

Elizabeth Cantwell,¹⁸ Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (co-chair)

Robert J. Ferl,¹⁹ University of Florida (co-chair)

Kenneth M. Baldwin, University of California, Irvine

Robert L. Byer, Stanford University

Ofodike A. Ezekoye, University of Texas, Austin

Ronald G. Larson, University of Michigan

Richard E. Lenski, Michigan State University

James A. Pawelczyk, Pennsylvania State University

Krystyn J. Van Vliet, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Peter W. Voorhees, Northwestern University

Erika Wagner, Blue Origin, LLC

Eugenia Y.-H. Wang, University of Louisville

Staff

Sandra J. Graham, Senior Program Officer, SSB

Abigail Sheffer,²⁰ Associate Program Officer, SSB

Dionna Williams, Program Coordinator, SSB

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¹⁷ Became a member in August 2014, unless otherwise indicated.

¹⁸ Became a member in March 2014; now at Arizona State University.

¹⁹ Became a member in March 2014.

²⁰ Promoted to Program Officer in 2015.

FIGURE 2.4 NRC-SSB advice associated with CBPSS—space biology and medicine (1960-2014).

FIGURE 2.5 NRC-SSB advice associated with CBPSS—microgravity research (1978-2014).

COMMITTEE ON EARTH SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS FROM SPACE

CESAS met on March 3-5, 2014, in Washington, D.C., as part of NRC Space Science Week. This meeting had a particular focus on planning for the second NRC decadal survey in Earth science and applications from space, which was expected to get underway in early 2015. In addition to a joint plenary session with the other SSB standing committees, the committee received agency updates from NOAA (Marvin LeBlanc, Director, Systems Engineering, NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service [NESDIS]); the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS; Sarah Ryker, Deputy Associate Director, Climate and Land Use Change); and NASA (Michael Freilich, Director of the Earth Science Division [ESD]). The committee was also briefed on the European Earth science planning process (Maurice Borgeaud, European Space Agency; and Ian Brown, Member, ESSC) and held a roundtable discussion with Grace Hu, Branch Examiner at OMB for the Department of Commerce, which focused on how the Executive Office of the President uses the decadal surveys. Representatives from the NRC’s Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate and the Ocean Studies Board were also present throughout the meeting. In a session entitled “Towards a Statement of Task for the Next Decadal Survey,” the committee engaged all participants in discussions on the following topics: survey objectives and scope; how to better tailor the next survey to the different needs and missions of relevant stakeholder agencies (NASA, NOAA, and the U.S. Geological Survey [USGS]); status of the previous decadal survey recommendations and role in the next survey; striking the right balance between prioritizing “science” and prioritizing missions; role and scope of the cost and technical evaluation (CATE) process in the next decadal survey; incorporating the work of the NRC “Continuity” study (see Chapter 3); coordinating with international partners; developing meaningful and actionable decision rules; and how to engage the community while managing expectations.

CESAS met on June 3-4, 2014, at the Beckman Center in Irvine, California. This meeting, like the previous meeting, focused on planning for the second NRC decadal survey in Earth science and applications from space. The committee discussed with representatives from the Aerospace Corporation options for the CATE, which is now an integral part of all NRC decadal surveys. The committee also met with Piers Sellers and Colleen Hartmann from NASA GSFC, who reviewed their recent white paper on the future of the U.S. environmental satellite program. Follow-on roundtable discussions among the committee and guests focused on issues related to the development of the statement of task for the upcoming survey: survey objectives and scope; how to better tailor the next survey to the different needs and missions of relevant stakeholder agencies (NASA, NOAA, and USGS); status of the previous decadal survey recommendations and missions and their role in the next survey; striking the right balance between prioritizing “science” and prioritizing missions; role and scope of the CATE process in the next decadal survey; tension between continuity and new missions and incorporating results of the NRC “Continuity” study; coordinating with international partners; developing meaningful and actionable decision rules; how to engage the community while managing expectations, including what template other NRC committees should use to communicate their community’s observational needs to the survey; and potential panel structure. A key product of the meeting, developed in executive session, was a draft of suggested elements of a statement of task.

CESAS met on September 17-19, 2014, at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C. The committee continued to focus on preparations for the initiation in late winter/early spring 2015 of the second NRC decadal survey in Earth science and applications from space. Open sessions on the first day of the meeting featured program updates from Jack Kaye, the NASA ESD Associate Director for Research, and Thomas Burns, the NOAA NESDIS Deputy Assistant Administrator for Systems; a discussion with the recently appointed NOAA Chief Scientist, Rick Spinrad; a review of the NASA Applied Sciences Program by Lawrence Friedl, Director, ESD Applied Sciences Program; and a briefing by Peter Colohan from OSTP on the recently released “National Plan for Civil Earth Observations.” The next decadal survey will be challenged by austere budgets and an ever-increasing demand for new and sustained environmental observations of Earth from space. In part to jumpstart anticipated conversations among survey members (when appointed) with the community, the committee convened an all-day session on September 18 entitled “The Potential Role of Small Satellites, CubeSats, Constellations, and Hosted Payloads in Designing the Future Earth Observing System Architecture.” Agenda items included the following: discussion with Bryant Cramer, former Associate Director of USGS and former NASA ESD Deputy Director; discussion with Walter Scott, Digital Globe (via WebEx); a presentation on Earth science with hosted payloads and small sat constellations by Lars Dyrud, Draper Laboratory; a discussion with Bill Swartz, principal investigator of the Radiometer Assessment Using Vertically Aligned Nanotubes (RAVAN) satellite, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; perspectives on SmallSats and CubeSats by Tom Sparn and Peter Pilewskie, University of Colorado’s

Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics; discussion with John Scherrer, project manager for CYGNSS, Southwest Research Institute; and roundtable discussions with committee members and guests.

CESAS did not meet in the fourth quarter; however, committee members continued their work in organizing the next NRC decadal survey in Earth sciences, and Mark Abbott, co-chair, presented a summary of progress to date on December 17, 2014, at a town hall meeting held in conjunction with the Fall meeting in San Francisco of the American Geophysical Union. The survey’s anticipated start is in Spring 2015; if structured in a manner similar to the 2007 decadal survey, some 100 community members will be invited to serve on the survey steering committee or one of its study panels.

A historical summary of a selection of NRC-SSB advisory reports on Earth science and applications in space is presented in Figure 2.6.

Membership

Mark R. Abbott, Oregon State University (co-chair)

Joyce E. Penner, University of Michigan (co-chair)

Steven A. Ackerman, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Stacey W. Boland, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Antonio J. Busalacchi, Jr., University of Maryland

Lennard A. Fisk, University of Michigan

Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Lee-Lueng Fu, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Inez Y. Fung,²¹ University of California, Berkeley

Chelle L. Gentemann, Remote Sensing Systems

Kenneth C. Jezek,²² Ohio State University

Michael D. King, University of Colorado, Boulder

Molly K. Macauley, Resources for the Future

Walter S. Scott,²³ Digital Globe, Inc.

David L. Skole, Michigan State University

William F. Townsend,²⁴ Independent Aerospace Consultant

Steven C. Wofsy, Harvard University

Staff

Arthur A. Charo, Senior Program Officer, SSB

Lewis Groswald, Associate Program Officer, SSB (through June 20)

Andrea Rebholz,²⁵ Program Coordinator, ASEB

COMMITTEE ON SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS

CSSP met on March 3-5, 2014, in Washington, D.C., as part of NRC Space Science Week. During the meeting, the committee received agency updates from David Chenette, then head of NASA’s Heliophysics Division (HPD), and from Richard Behnke, then Geospace Section Head, NSF. Committee member and mission principal investigator Thomas Immel gave a talk about the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON), which was selected in 2013 to be the next Heliophysics Explorer satellite mission. Additional topics of discussion included the potential closing of the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) facility in Alaska and the implications of low proposal-selection rates at both NASA and NSF. The utility of the HAARP facility in support of ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere research was the subject of a recent NRC report, Opportunities for High-

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²¹ Resigned from committee in April 2014.

²² Term ended in 2014.

²³ Resigned from committee in September 2014.

²⁴ Resigned from committee in October 2014.

²⁵ Staff from other NRC Boards who are shared with the SSB.

FIGURE 2.6 NRC-SSB advice associated with CESAS—Earth science and applications in space (1979-2014).

Power, High-Frequency Transmitters to Advance Ionospheric/Thermospheric Research: Report of a Workshop (2014). The committee held two focus sessions related to space weather. In one, the committee examined the current state of space weather research and operational needs; included in that session was a presentation by Ron Turner, ANSER of Analytic Services, Inc. The other session featured a roundtable discussion on space weather that was held with representatives from NASA, NSF, NOAA, and USGS; they discussed the upcoming National Space Weather Program’s implementation plan and how CSSP and the NRC might best give input. The committee held a follow-up teleconference on March 17 with David Chenette to discuss details of the President’s proposed budget for Heliophysics.

CSSP did not meet in-person during the second quarter; the committee did meet several times by WebEx teleconference, including a discussion with David Chenette, then director of NASA’s HPD. Among the topics discussed with Dr. Chenette were the budget and status of the Solar Probe Plus mission, implementation of the 2013 solar and space physics decadal survey, proposal success rates, and the health of the research community. The committee also held a WebEx teleconference with Richard Behnke, then head of the Geospace Section of the NSF’s Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (GEO/AGS). Topics of discussion included the status of GEO/AGS programs, the potential to move one of the AMISR faces to Gakona, Alaska, for coordinated operations with the existing HAARP facility (assuming HAARP continues to operate), and potential future activities related to national needs for improved forecasts of space weather events.

CSSP met on October 7-8, 2014, at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C. During the meeting, the committee received updates on programs at NASA’s HPD and NSF’s GEO/AGS from Jeffrey Newmark, Interim Director of HPD, and Richard Behnke, then Geospace Section Head in GEO/AGS, respectively. An update on the NASA HPD roadmap, about to be released, was delivered by WebEx by Ed DeLuca, chair of the 2012 Heliophysics Roadmap Committee. Karel Schrijver, Lockheed Martin, provided the committee with a review of the COSPAR International Living With a Star (ILWS) Roadmap. The committee also heard a series of presentations as part of its examination of the probability of high-impact space weather events: Extreme Space Weather: “Black Swan” or “Clear and Present Danger”? (Ron Turner, ANSER); Space Weather from Explosions on the Sun: How Bad Could It Be? (Karel Schrijver); The Probability of Occurrence of Extreme Space Weather Events (Pete Riley, Predictive Science, Inc., by WebEx); Uncertainties in the Estimation of the Occurrence Rate of Rare Space Weather Events (Jeffrey Love, USGS); Estimation of Hazardous Electric Fields Induced in the Earth’s Lithosphere During Large Magnetic Storms (Jeffrey Love); the View from NASA (Lika Guhathakurta, Living With A Star Program Scientist); and roundtable discussions.

CSSP is also pleased to announce the publication of the 32-page booklet Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society: An Overview, which summarizes—at a level appropriate for a broad audience of students, policymakers, and the interested public—the 2013 decadal survey report Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society.

A historical summary of a selection of NRC-SSB advisory reports on space and solar physics is presented in Figure 2.7.

Membership

J. Todd Hoeksema, Stanford University (co-chair)

Mary K. Hudson, Dartmouth College (co-chair)

Timothy S. Bastian, National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Amitava Bhattacharjee, Princeton University

Stephen A. Fuselier, Southwest Research Institute

Sarah Gibson,^‡ National Center for Atmospheric Research, High Altitude Observatory

George M. Gloeckler, University of Maryland (emeritus)

David L. Hysell,^‡ Cornell University

Thomas J. Immel, University of California, Berkeley

Justin Kasper,²⁶ University of Michigan

Louis J. Lanzerotti, New Jersey Institute of Technology

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²⁶ Became a member in September 2014.

^‡ Term ended in 2014.

FIGURE 2.7 NRC-SSB advice associated with CSSP—solar and space physics (1980-2014).

Judith L. Lean, Naval Research Laboratory

Elizabeth MacDonald,²⁷ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Robyn Millan, Dartmouth College

Terrance G. Onsager, NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center

Aaron Ridley, University of Michigan

Nathan A. Schwadron, University of New Hampshire

Joshua Semeter,²⁸ Boston University

Michelle F. Thomsen,²⁹ Los Alamos National Laboratory

Staff

Arthur A. Charo, Senior Program Officer, SSB

Abigail Sheffer,³⁰ Associate Program Officer, SSB

Anesia Wilks, Senior Program Assistant, SSB

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²⁷ Became a member in September 2014.

²⁸ Became a member in September 2014.

²⁹ Term ended in 2014.

³⁰ Promoted to Program Officer in 2015.

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