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An Enabling Foundation for NASA's Earth and Space Science Missions (2010) / Chapter Skim
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2 Assessment of NASA's Mission-Enabling Activities
Pages 25-30

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From page 25...
... Indeed, several recent independent studies have concluded that the mismatch between NASA's assigned responsibilities and available budget is untenable.1 Other participants in the committee's data-gathering meetings commented that the composi tion and balance between spaceflight missions and mission-enabling activities have evolved over time, but without quantification and explicit assessment inside or outside NASA. 1 National Research Council, An Assessment of Balance in NASA's Science Programs, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2006; National Research Council, America's Future in Space: Aligning the Civil Space Program with National Needs, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2009.
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From page 26...
... 3 National Research Council, Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1998. 4 National Research Council, Evaluating Federal Research Programs: Research and the Government Performance and Results Act , National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1999.
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From page 27...
... Obtaining Continual Advisory Input For most of the history of NASA, SMD and its predecessor organizations had a highly effective internal advisory structure. Individual scientific disciplines had informal advisory committees, known as Management Operations Working Groups (MOWGs)
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From page 28...
... to protect those budget elements when overall budgetary shortfalls would tempt some to divert funding away from mission-enabling activities within DOD to mission activities. As an added consideration, experience within DOD has shown that actively managing basic research types of activities often requires different processes, metrics, and management techniques from those associated with managing advanced technology development and system prototyping activities.
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From page 29...
... The committee heard, and saw, that program officers have heavy and complex workloads that leave them little time to focus on their mis sion-enabling program management responsibilities and still meet basic oversight requirements for tracking the progress of funding actions and program developments. For example, a typical SMD science program manager's responsibilities might now include the following roles: • Program scientist for one or more future spaceflight missions and/or instruments in development or going through competitive selection • Program scientist for several (e.g., 2-4)
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Key Terms

  • advisory structure
  • internal advisory
  • science programs
  • strategic goals
  • flight missions

  • committees served
  • smd program
  • informal advisory
  • supporting research
  • spaceflight mission

  • future spaceflight
  • smd strategic
  • program officers
  • mission programs
  • nrc decadal

  • program scientist
  • budget elements
  • effective internal
  • allocation decisions
  • workforce development

  • practical outcomes
  • award selection
  • budgetary program
  • flight program
  • external advisory

  • research facility
  • equivalent advisory
  • technology budget
  • divisional advisory
  • science activities


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