Continuity of NASA Earth Observations from Space A Value Framework (2015) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 1-5
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Earth observations provide the foundation for critical scientific advances, and environmental data products derived from these observations are used in resource management and for an extraordinary range of societal applications, including weather forecasts, climate projections, sea level change, water management, disease early warning, agricultural production, and the response to natural disasters. As the complexity of societal infrastructure and its vulnerability to environmental disruption increases, the demands for deeper scientific insights and more actionable information continue to rise.
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In developing a readily implementable framework, the committee focused on climate change science goals where space-based continuity measurements are expected to make substantial contributions. With this specific focus, the recommended framework is intended as a new method for evaluating science-driven continuity missions and represents a complement to the existing NASA proposal evaluation processes for NASA Research Announcements and Earth Venture Announcements of Opportunity.
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The committee envisions NASA ESD establishing a small set of quantified objectives from the same sources that inform the development of its program plan, notably the scientific community's consensus priorities expressed in NRC decadal surveys and guidance from the executive and congressional branches. Congressionally mandated midterm assessments of the decadal survey afford an additional opportunity for community evaluation of the objectives.
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While there are numerous ways to evaluate quality in the context of continuity measurements, a useful quality metric is expected to vary between continuity required for short-term operational use (e.g., weather prediction, hazard warnings, agricultural crop monitoring) versus longer-term science objectives, such as those related to global climate change.
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Recommendation: NASA should extend their current mission cost tools to address continuity measure ment-related costs needed for the decision framework. The ability of ESD officials to make informed decisions requires unbiased and consistent information on benefits and affordability that is re-evaluated regularly and presented on a time frame appropriate for NASA planning.
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