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Charter and Organization of the Board
THE ORIGINS OF THE SPACE SCIENCE BOARD
To meet the government’s urgent need for an independent adviser on scientific matters, President Lincoln signed a congressional charter forming the National Academy of Sciences in 1863 to “investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science.” As science began to play an ever-increasing role in national priorities and public life, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) eventually expanded to include the National Research Council in 1916, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 1964, and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), which was established in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine. Collectively they are referred to as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies). More information is available at https://www.nationalacademies.org.
The original charter of the Space Science Board was established in June 1958, 3 months before the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) opened its doors. The Space Science Board and its successor, the Space Studies Board (SSB), have provided expert external and independent scientific and programmatic advice to NASA on a continuous basis from NASA’s inception until the present. The SSB has also provided such advice to other executive branch agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Department of Defense, as well as to Congress.
The fundamental charter of the Board today remains that defined by NAS President Detlev W. Bronk in a letter to Lloyd V. Berkner, first chair of the Board, on June 26, 1958, which established the Space Science Board:
We have talked of the main task of the Board in three parts—the immediate program, the long-range program, and the international aspects of both. In all three we shall look to the Board to be the focus of the interests and responsibilities of the Academy-Research Council in space science; to establish necessary relationships with civilian science and with governmental science activities, particularly the proposed new space agency, the National Science Foundation, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency; to represent the Academy-Research Council complex in our international relations in this field on behalf of American science and scientists; to seek ways to stimulate needed research; to promote necessary coordination of scientific effort; and to provide such advice and recommendations to appropriate individuals and agencies with regard to space science as may in the Board’s judgment be desirable.
As we have already agreed, the Board is intended to be an advisory, consultative, correlating, evaluating body and not an operating agency in the field of space science. It should avoid responsibility as a Board for the conduct of any programs of space research and for the formulation of budgets relative thereto. Advice to agencies properly responsible for these matters, on the other hand, would be within its purview to provide.
The Space Science Board changed its name to the Space Studies Board in 1989 to reflect its expanded scope, which now includes space applications and other topics. Today, the SSB exists to provide an independent, authoritative forum for information and advice on all aspects of space science and applications, and it serves as the focal point within the National Academies for activities on space research. It oversees advisory studies and program assessments, facilitates international research coordination, and promotes communications on space science and science policy among the research community, the federal government, and the interested public. The SSB also serves as the U.S. National Committee for the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) of the International Council for Science.
THE SPACE STUDIES BOARD TODAY
The SSB is a unit of the Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences (DEPS). DEPS is one of the major program units of the National Academies through which the institution conducts its operations on behalf of NAS, NAE, and NAM. Within DEPS, there are a total of 13 boards that cover a broad range of physical science and engineering disciplines and mission areas.
Members of the DEPS Committee (DEPSCOM) provide advice on Board membership and on proposed new projects to be undertaken by ad hoc study committees formed under the SSB’s auspices. About every 3 years, DEPSCOM reviews the overall operations of each of the DEPS boards. The next review of the SSB is scheduled to take place in 2021.
The “Space Studies Board” encompasses the board itself, its discipline committees (see Chapter 2), ad hoc study committees (see Chapter 3), and staff. The board is composed of prominent scientists, engineers, industry representatives, scholars, and policy experts in space research appointed for 2- and 3-year staggered terms. They represent the following space research disciplines: space-based astrophysics, heliophysics (sometimes called solar and space physics), Earth science and applications from space, solar system exploration, biological and physical sciences (sometimes called microgravity sciences), space systems, technology, and science and technology policy. In 2019, there were 21-23 Board members. The SSB executive committee assists the chairs of the Board in oversight of activities. A liaison member of the National Academies’ Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB) and the U.S. representative to COSPAR, who is a member of the National Academies, are ex officio participants. A standing ex officio arrangement also has been established with the chair of the European Space Science Committee (ESSC), part of the European Science Foundation.
Organization
The organization of the SSB in 2019 is illustrated in Figure 1.1. Taken together, the board and its discipline and ad hoc study committees generally hold as many as 30-40 meetings per year.
Major Functions of the Space Studies Board
The board provides an independent, authoritative forum for information and advice on all aspects of space science and applications and serves as the focal point within the National Academies for activities on space research. The board itself does not conduct studies, but it oversees advisory studies and program assessments conducted by ad hoc study committees (see Chapter 3) generally formed in response to a request from a sponsor negotiated with the board director. All projects proposed to be conducted by ad hoc study committees under the auspices of the SSB must be reviewed and endorsed by the chair of the board (as well as other National Academies officials). The board serves as a communications bridge on space research and science policy among the scientific research community, the federal government, and the interested public.
Decadal surveys are a signature product of the SSB, providing strategic direction to NASA, NSF, the Department of Energy (DOE), NOAA, USGS, and other agencies on the top priorities over the next 10 years in a particular science discipline: astronomy and astrophysics (joint effort with the Board on Physics and Astronomy [BPA]), solar system exploration, solar and space physics, Earth science and applications from space (joint effort with the Division on Earth and Life Studies), and biological and physical sciences in space (joint effort with the ASEB). The board meets at least two times per year in the spring and fall to review the activities of its committees and to
be briefed on and discuss major space policy issues. In addition, joint SSB and ASEB meetings take place once a year in order to enhance the synergism between the two boards.
International Representation and Cooperation
The board serves as the representative organization for the U.S. National Committee for COSPAR, an international, multidisciplinary forum for exchanging space science research. Board members may individually participate in COSPAR scientific sessions to present research or results of an SSB publication to the international community, or conduct informal information exchange sessions with national entities within COSPAR scientific assemblies. See Chapter 2 for a summary of COSPAR’s 2019 activities.
The board also has a regular practice of ex officio membership of the board director on the ESSC, which is part of the European Science Foundation (see http://www.esf.org/).
Space Studies Board Committees
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee (XCOM), composed entirely of board members, facilitates the conduct of the board’s business, permits the board to move rapidly to lay the groundwork for new study activities, and provides strategic planning advice to the chair and board director. The XCOM meets annually for a session on the assessment of SSB operations and future planning. Its membership normally includes the chair and vice chair of the board and one board member for each discipline.
Discipline Committees
Discipline-based committees are the means by which the board conducts its oversight of specific space research disciplines. Each discipline committee is composed of about a dozen specialists, appointed to represent the broad sweep of research areas within the discipline. Like the board itself, each discipline committee serves as a communications bridge with its associated research community and participates in identifying new projects and prospective members of ad hoc study committees. When negotiated with the sponsoring agency, they can also draft publications containing consensus conclusions and findings on the implementation of their respective decadal surveys.
Ad Hoc Study Committees
Ad hoc study committees are created by National Academies’ action to conduct specific studies as negotiated with the sponsors. An ad hoc committee typically produces a publication providing advice to the government and therefore governed by Section 15 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). An ad hoc study committee usually writes its report after holding two or three information-gathering meetings. In some cases, they may hold a workshop or symposium in addition to or instead of information-gathering meetings.
In other cases, workshops are organized by ad hoc planning committees that serve as organizers only. The workshop proceedings are written by a rapporteur and do not contain findings or recommendations. In these cases, the planning committee is not governed by FACA Section 15, since no advice results from the workshop.
The ad hoc study committees that were in place during 2019 are summarized in Chapter 3.
COLLABORATION WITH OTHER UNITS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Much of the work of the SSB involves topics that fall entirely within its principal areas of responsibility and can be addressed readily by its members and committees. However, there are other situations in which the need for breadth of expertise, alternative points of view, or synergy with other projects leads to collaboration with other units of the National Academies.
The SSB has engaged in many multi-unit collaborations. Other boards with which the SSB has worked most often are the ASEB, the BPA, and the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate. The SSB has also collabo-
rated with the Board on Science Education, the Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, and the Ocean Studies Board, among others. Bringing the relevant expertise of the National Academies to bear in preparing advice for the federal government and the public enhances the results of complex study topics. Multi-unit collaborative projects also present new challenges—namely, to manage the projects in a way that achieves economies of scale and true synergy rather than just adding cost or complexity. Collaborative relationships between the SSB and other units during 2019 are illustrated in Figure 1.1.
ASSURING THE QUALITY OF SPACE STUDIES BOARD PUBLICATIONS
A major contributor to the quality of the SSB publications (Table 1.1 lists the 2019 releases) is the requirement that National Academies publications undergo external peer review. All of the publications were subjected to extensive peer review, overseen by the Report Review Committee (RRC). Typically, 7 to 10 reviewers (occasionally as many as 15 or more) are selected on the basis of recommendations by NAS and NAE section liaisons, SSB members, other National Academies volunteers, and staff. The reviewers are subject to approval by the National Academies. The identities of reviewers are not known to a publication’s authors until after the review has been completed and the publication has been approved by the RRC. The publication’s authors, with the assistance of SSB staff, must provide a response to every specific comment from every external reviewer. To ensure that appropriate technical revisions are made to the publication and that the revised publication complies with policies and standards of the National Academies, the response-to-review process is overseen and refereed by an independent arbiter (called a monitor) that is knowledgeable about the publication’s issues. In some cases, there is a second independent arbiter (called a coordinator) that has a broader perspective on policy issues affecting the National Academies or a more narrow focus on the subject matter of the publication, depending on the expertise of the monitor. All of the reviews emphasize the need for scientific and technical clarity and accuracy and for proper substantiation of any findings, conclusions, and recommendations presented in the publication. Names of the external reviewers, including the monitor and coordinator, if one was appointed, are published in the final publication, but their individual comments are not released.
Another important method to ensure high-quality work derives from the size, breadth, and depth of the cadre of experts who serve on the SSB and its committees or participate in other ways in the activities of the SSB. Some highlights of the demographics of the SSB in 2019 are presented in Table 1.2. During 2019, a total of 267 individuals served as formally appointed members of the Board and its committees, including 48 members of NAS, NAE, or NAM and 73 unique external reviewers contributed to critiques of draft publications. Being able to draw on such a broad base of expertise is a unique strength of the advisory process of the National Academies.
AUDIENCE AND SPONSORS
The SSB’s efforts have historically been relevant to a full range of government audiences in civilian space research including NASA SMD, NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD), NASA’s Space Technologies Mission Directorate (STMD), NSF, Department of Commerce (DOC)/NOAA, Department of the Interior (DOI)/USGS, and DOE. Within NASA, SMD has been the leading sponsor of SSB publications. Publications have also been sponsored by or of interest to agencies besides NASA including DOC/NOAA, NSF, DOE, and DOI/USGS. In 2019, the majority of the SSB’s published reports were focused on science issues directly relevant to SMD (Table 1.1).
OUTREACH AND DISSEMINATION
Enhancing outreach to a variety of interested communities and improved dissemination of SSB publications is a high priority. In 2019, the SSB continued to distribute its quarterly newsletter by electronic means to subscribers.
The Board teamed with other units of the National Academies (including boards within the Division on Earth and Life Studies, the Division on Policy and Global Affairs, and the BPA) to exhibit at the national meetings of the American Geophysical Union and the American Astronomical Society. More than 500 printed publications were disseminated in addition to the copies distributed to study committee members, the Board, and sponsors. The National Academies have developed a new searchable website that compiles all SSB reports since 1958 in chronological order (https://www.nap.edu/author/SSB/).
TABLE 1.1 Space Studies Board Publications Released in 2019
| Publication Title | Sponsor(s) | Oversight Committee or Boarda | Principal Audiencesb | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NASA/SMD | NASA/HEOMD | NOAA | NSF | Other | |||
| An Astrobiology Strategy for the Search for Life in the Universe | NASA | SSB | X | ||||
| Strategic Investments in Instrumentation and Facilities for Extraterrestrial Sample Curation and Analysis | NSF | SSB | X | ||||
| Planetary Protection Classification of Sample Return Missions from the Martian Moons | NASA | SSB | X | ESA, ESF | |||
| Report Series: Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science: Review of the Commercial Aspects of NASA SMD’s Lunar Science and Exploration Initiative | NASA | SSB | X | ||||
| Report Series: Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science: Review of the Planetary Science Aspects of NASA SMD’s Lunar Science and Exploration Initiative | NASA | SSB | X | ||||
| Finding Hazardous Asteroids: Using Infrared and Visible Wavelength Telescopes | NASA | SSB | X | ||||
| Continuous Improvement of NASA’s Innovation Ecosystem: Proceedings of a Workshop | NASA | SSB ASEB | NASA STMD | ||||
| Review of the Draft 2019 Science Mission Directorate Science Plan | NASA | SSB | X | ||||
aOversight committee or board within the National Academies:
| ASEB | Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board SSB Space Studies Board |
bPrincipal audiences: Federal agencies and others that have historically funded or shown interest in SSB publications.
| DOE | Department of Energy | |
| ESA | European Space Agency | |
| ESF | European Science Foundation | |
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | |
| NASA/ARMD | NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate | |
| NASA/HEOMD | NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate | |
| NASA/SMD | NASA Science Mission Directorate | |
| NASA/STMD | NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate | |
| NOAA | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | |
| NSF | National Science Foundation | |
| OMB | Office of Management and Budget | |
| OSTP | Office of Science and Technology Policy | |
| USGS | U. S. Geological Survey |
TABLE 1.2 Experts Involved in the Space Studies Board and Its Committees, January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019
| Board and Committee Membersa | National Academies Members | Reviewers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academia | 191 | 43 | 41 |
| Government and national facilities | 19 | 0 | 6 |
| Private industry | 10 | 3 | 16 |
| Nonprofit and otherb | 47 | 2 | 10 |
| Total | 267c | 48 | 73 |
a Includes the members of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Medicine in column 2.
b Other includes foreign institutions and entities not classified elsewhere.
c Includes 23 Board members and 244 committee members.
Formal publications delivered to government sponsors constitute one of the primary products of the work of the SSB, but the dissemination process has a number of other important elements. The Board is always seeking ways to ensure that its work reaches the broadest possible appropriate audience and that it has the largest beneficial impact. After briefing the sponsoring agencies, publications are often briefed to interested Hill staffers. In addition, publications are often briefed by the chair and committee members at major scientific conferences. Copies of publications are routinely provided to key executive branch officials, members and staffs of relevant congressional committees, members of other interested units of the National Academies, and federal advisory bodies. Members of the press are notified about the release of each new publication, and the SSB maintains a substantial mailing list for distribution of publications to members of the space research community. The SSB publishes summaries of all new publications in its quarterly newsletter. The SSB also offers briefings by committee chairs and members or SSB staff to officials in Congress, the executive branch, and scientific societies.
LLOYD V. BERKNER SPACE POLICY INTERNSHIP
The Space Studies Board has operated a very successful competitive internship program since 1992. The Lloyd V. Berkner Space Policy Internship is named after Dr. Berkner, the Board’s first chair, who played an instrumental role in creating and promoting the International Geophysical Year, a global effort that made it possible for scientists from around the world to coordinate observations of various geophysical phenomena.
The general goal of each internship is to provide promising students an opportunity to work in civil space research policy in the nation’s capital, under the aegis of the National Academies. Internships are offered twice per year; in the summer for undergraduate students and in autumn for both undergraduate and graduate students. Interns typically work with the board, its committees, and its staff on one or more of the advisory projects currently under way. In 2019, the SSB had the pleasure of hosting six interns through the summer and fall programs.
