The Space Studies Board is a unit of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Medicine work together as the Academies to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.
Support for the work of the Space Studies Board and its committees in 2015 was provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration contracts NNH10CC48B and NNH11CD57B; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Contract WC133R-11-CQ-0048; National Science Foundation Grants AST 1533814 and AST-1535742; U.S. Geological Survey Grant G15AAP00107; and Department of Energy Grant DE-SC0014211. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support.
Cover: NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Pluto on July 14, 2015. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera (MVIC). Pluto’s surface sports a remarkable range of subtle colors, enhanced in this view to a rainbow of pale blues, yellows, oranges, and deep reds. Many landforms have their own distinct colors, telling a complex geological and climatological story that scientists have only just begun to decode. The image resolves details and colors on scales as small as 0.8 miles (1.3 km). Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute.
From the Chair
The Space Studies Board (SSB) has had a busy and productive year.
The most important task of the SSB is to advise the government about space policy through the decadal survey process. The recently released report The Space Science Decadal Surveys: Lessons Learned and Best Practices synthesizes the experience of multiple surveys in our different subfields and identifies a set of best practices for future surveys. The SSB has also launched its most complex survey, the Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space. No other survey covers such a wide breadth of science and involves such a diverse community of scientists and users. NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Geological Survey are co-sponsoring the survey with its panels covering global hydrological cycles and water resources, weather and air quality, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, climate variability and change, and the Earth surface and interior-dynamics and hazards. The survey aims to issue its report by October 2017.
As part of the decadal process, Congress has charged NASA with requesting mid-decadal reviews in each of the subfields. Over the past year, the SSB launched the mid-decadal review of the astronomy and astrophysics programs, examining progress toward the goals of the New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics report. In addition, the SSB hosted a symposium in Irvine, California, dedicated to understanding scientific progress in astronomy and astrophysics since the release of the decadal survey and the changing intellectual landscape as we look forward to the next astronomy and astrophysics survey that is anticipated to start in 2018.
The Space Studies Board has also been involved in several other exciting studies this past year. We issued the report from our education workshop, Sharing the Adventure with the Student—Exploring the Intersections of NASA Space Science and Education: A Workshop Summary, one of our biannual workshops on topics in space sciences. Victoria Hamilton, Southwest Research Institute, and Harvey Tannenbaum, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, are leading an ad hoc committee charged with evaluating the scientific return from missions in extended operations, examining the balance between starting new missions and continuing older missions, as well as evaluating the senior review process. That report is expected to be issued in the summer of 2016. Perhaps our most novel study this year has been “Achieving Science Goals with Cubesats.” The committee was charged with identifying the potential of CubeSats to do high-priority science and to identify ways of increasing the scientific
value of this potentially exciting new platform. Thomas Zurbuchen, University of Michigan, and Bhavya Lal, IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute, are leading this committee which will issue its report in May 2016.
The Space Studies Board continues to work with its international partners on both policy planning and enhancing scientific interaction. For the first time in many years, the SSB developed a joint study with our European Science Foundation colleagues on planetary protection issues for so-called “Special Regions” on Mars. In addition, the SSB and the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences co-sponsored a forum for young space scientists in Shanghai that focused on studies of planetary bodies in the solar system and Earth science from space. This forum built on previous meetings focused on astrophysics and heliophysics. In summary, this has been a productive year for the Board, and it has been a pleasure to work with all the committees in pursuing the SSB’s mandate to provide NASA and the broader federal government with the highest quality advice. Many thanks to all in the government and the research community who make that possible.
David N. Spergel
Chair
Space Studies Board
Space Studies Board Chairs and Vice Chairs
SPACE STUDIES BOARD CHAIRS
Lloyd V. Berkner (deceased), 1958–1962
Harry H. Hess (deceased), 1962–1969
Charles H. Townes (deceased), 1970–1973
Richard M. Goody, 1974–1976
A.G.W. Cameron (deceased), 1977–1981
Thomas M. Donahue (deceased), 1982–1988
Louis J. Lanzerotti, 1989–1994
Claude R. Canizares, 1994–2000
John H. McElroy (deceased), 2000–2003
Lennard A. Fisk, 2003–2008
Charles F. Kennel, 2008–2014
David N. Spergel, 2014–
SPACE STUDIES BOARD VICE CHAIRS
George A. Paulikas, 2003–2006
A. Thomas Young, 2006–2010
John M. Klineberg, 2011–2014
Robert D. Braun, 2014–
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Contents
1 CHARTER AND ORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD
The Origins of the Space Science Board
Collaboration With Other Units of the Academies
Assuring the Quality of Space Studies Board Reports
Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Internship
2 BOARD AND STANDING COMMITTEES: ACTIVITIES AND MEMBERSHIP
Highlights of Space Studies Board Activities
Space Studies Board Membership
U.S. National Committee for COSPAR
Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science
Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics
Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space
Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space
Committee on Solar and Space Physics
3 AD HOC STUDY COMMITTEES: ACTIVITIES AND MEMBERSHIP
Achieving Science Goals with CubeSats
Continuity of NASA-Sustained Remote Sensing Observations of the Earth from Space
Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space
NASA Science Mission Extensions: Scientific Value, Policies, and Review Process
Review of MEPAG Report on Planetary Protection for Mars Special Regions
Survey of Surveys: Lessons Learned from the Decadal Survey Process
4 WORKSHOPS, SYMPOSIA, MEETINGS OF EXPERTS, AND OTHER SPECIAL PROJECTS
Chinese Academy of Sciences-National Academy of Sciences Forum for New Leaders in Space Science
5.1 Continuity of NASA Earth Observations from Space: A Value Framework
5.3 Review of MEPAG Report on Mars Special Regions
5.4 Optimizing the U.S. Ground-Based Optical and Infrared Astronomy System
5.5 The Space Science Decadal Surveys: Lessons Learned and Best Practices
The International Space Station: Addressing Operational Challenges
Exploring Commercial Opportunities to Maximize Earth Science Investments
